


Snow Pooka

by CleverCorgi



Series: The Arctic Hare and the Easter Bunny [2]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Fluff and Smut, Humor, M/M, MPreg (Hermaphrodite), Original Secondary Characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-22
Updated: 2013-07-09
Packaged: 2017-12-09 04:34:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 54,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/770031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CleverCorgi/pseuds/CleverCorgi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Following the defeat of General Winter, Jack has mysteriously transformed into a Pooka.  Now he must not only learn about being a Pooka but also overcome all the challenges that follow from becoming an entirely different species, especially once Pitch Black takes notice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Snow Furry

**Author's Note:**

> So, here we are! The first chapter of _Snow Pooka_. The saga of Jack Frost, now a Winter Pooka, continues!
> 
> The opening quote comes from the poem "O Fortuna" that, in turn, comes from the [_Carmina Burana_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmina_burana) manuscript. The _Carmina Burana_ manuscript contains 254 poems from the 11th thru 13th centuries. 24 poems of it were [set to music](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmina_Burana_%28Orff%29) as a scenic cantata in 1936 by Carl Orff.
> 
> Also, go listen to [The Piano Guys](http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmKurapML4BF9Bjtj4RbvXw) if you haven't already. They're awesome!

O Fortuna, velut luna statu variabilis, semper crescis aut decrescis. – “O Fortuna,” _Carmina Burana_  


 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

  _“Jack…?” Aster whispered, in complete and utter shock, his eyes as wide as they’d ever been._

_Jack’s very long, very white, and very furry rabbit ear twitched at the whisper.  Jack raised a furred paw to rub at his eyes but froze when he saw his own hand and stared in wonder._

_“Aster…?” Jack whispered back.  “What’s happened to me?”_

 

Jack returned his gaze to his hands –

 _Paws_ , Jack thought, correcting himself.  _I have paws!  And my legs!  They’re all furry!  And footpaws!  And – and –_

Glancing at Bunny and seeing the shocked Pooka was absolutely useless at the moment, Jack turned to the nearest person available, but stopped short when he realized Old Man Winter, the Snow Queen, and Mother Nature were standing in a semi-circle around his half-prone form.

“Um, can any of you three tell me what’s going on?  Why am I all furry and stuff now?” Jack inquired, gazing up at the three ancient and powerful spirits in a bit of a daze, not yet sure whether he should panic.

_Definitely leaning towards panic._

Winter chuckled while the two women smiled tenderly.  Eirlys knelt down to Jack’s eye-level and placed a gentle hand on his left paw.

 _Paws_ , Jack though again, unable to get over the fact that he was so _furry_.

“Jack, my frostling, you are a very, very special spirit.  Father related to you how you came to be, yes?” the Snow Queen said softly as color faded back into her outfit and appearance, until she resembled the warmer, brown robed woman he’d first met.

Jack thought back to the ‘kidnapping’ incident.

“He said…he said that you three and Manny were all involved in my – is resurrection the right word here?”

Eirlys nodded.  “When a new seasonal spirit is created, Mother Nature has to grant permission, in a metaphysical sense, for the appropriate powers to be passed on.  As Father and I are tied to Winter so strongly, at least one of the two of us have to be involved as well when a new Winter spirit of your caliber is created.”

“Before you ask, frostling,” Seraphina continued when Eirlys paused, “Your ‘caliber’ is that of a spirit above the everyday rabble of Winter, such as the snowgres and icelings.  You have always been intended to take up the mantle of a Guardian – that is why Lunanoff asked us for permission to raise you in the first place.  However, that is not your only purpose.”

Old Man Winter took up answering Jack this time.

“You are the first of our seedlings, spirits we have created with a special spark that grows inside them as they develop in magical power and strength.  This was not meant to happen for several centuries yet, but the General’s foolish decision to declare an open season on you hastened your growth to completion.”

“Okay,” Jack replied slowly, processing everything he’d been told.  “Okay.  I – I think I understand.  But _what am I_?”

“Have you not figured this out yet, my frostling?” Eirlys inquired, the amusement clear in her voice.

Jack shook his head.  Bunny chose this moment to regain his voice.

“Frostbite,” Aster whispered in a dazed tone, drawing Jack’s curious attention.  “You’ve turned into a Pooka, like me.”

Jack froze.

“…what?”

“Perhaps it would be best if he were shown, Eirlys,” Seraphina suggested.

“Oh!  Of course!  Jack here – can you stand? – let me conjure one of my mirrors for you.”

Jack stood, shakily, not in any way used to how his legs were now jointed –

_Oh my god, I’m taller!_

– with a helping hand from both Seraphina and Eirlys.  Once he indicated that he was as balanced as he was going to get for now, he nodded and they let go of his hands.  He swayed, but remained standing as Eirlys conjured a mirror into existence, which appeared out thin air in a similar manner to herself and Old Man Winter.

Jack stared.

Facing him in the mirror was a completely white Pooka, with the notable exception of light grey ‘tips’ on his ears and tail –

 _Oh my god, I have a tail!_ Jack thought as he turned to look at his rump, wiggling the little tail slightly.

– and the tip of his muzzle.  His nose was a shade of black so dark is seemed to shimmer with a bluish hue as he turned his head back and forth.  He had the same icy blue eyes, although they appeared somehow bigger on his new face.  His whiskers were black, but incredibly thin and –

 _Oh, sensitive,_ Jack thought as he touched them lightly.  _That’ll take some getting used to._

His white fur, what he could see of it since he was still wearing his hoodie – which still fit him incredibly well, given the fact he’d gained at least six inches in height and filled out slightly – was quite soft, almost downy in texture.  His feet were just _huge_ now, but he could already see how that was an advantage with the way his legs were structured.

 _I think I understand how Bunny can be so fast now_ , Jack mused.  _I feel so – springy._

It was as he started to admire how his body looked now that he noticed his sheath –

 _Sheath?_ Jack thought in surprise.  _Shit!  I’m naked!_

Jack’s ears flattened against the back of his head in sudden embarrassment as his hands flew to cover his groin.  The sudden movement caused him to wobble and, if it had not been for Aster quickly moving up behind him to stabilize him, he would have fallen right over.

Bunny, despite still looking a bit shocked at Jack’s appearance, managed to chuckle at his reaction.

“Mate, you do realize that I go about ‘naked’ all the time and it doesn’t bother anyone, right?”

Jack squeaked at the thought and turned himself to press against Bunny, front to front, to hide himself from everyone else.

Aster chuckled again.  “Never thought about it that way, did you Frostbite?”

Jack buried his face in Bunny’s chest fur and shook his head.  Aster hugged the smaller Pooka close, nuzzling his head in assurance.

“You’ll have to get used to it, mate.  Pants don’t rightly work for us.  You wouldn’t believe the chaffing they cause.”

Jack’s ears perked up at that statement, before one fell back behind his head and the other fell forward, covering his left eye.

“Ack!” Jack exclaimed as he batted the offending ear out of his way.  “How do you keep these things out of your way all the time?”

Bunny grinned.  “You’re just not used to using those muscles yet, Jack.  It’ll come, in time.  Here, let’s move over to the couch.  I can already see you’re starting to have trouble standing on your new legs.”

Aster half-guided, half-dragged Jack over to the couch and settled the two of them on it, Jack curled up in his lap protectively.  In deference to Jack’s human modesty, he pulled a blanket over the two of them.  Jack purred contentedly, before starting at the sound in surprise.  Aster chuckled as Jack gave him a sheepish grin.

“It’s going to take me a while to get used to things,” Jack murmured against Aster’s chest as he nuzzled it affectionately.

Old Man Winter chose that moment to chime in, saying gruffly, “You will need to be _very careful_ with him, Aster.  While he is physically an adolescent, his control of his body will be that of a _newborn_ _kit_.  There is likely to be a bit of growth over the next several months as his body finishes adjusting.”

“Wait.  Wait wait wait,” Jack spluttered, ears going alert for a moment before falling in his face again.  Jack shook his head to shift them aside and continued in a more measured tone, squeaking giddily on the last word, “I’m going to grow more?  Do you mean _taller_?”

“Yes, frostling.  You will grow both a bit thicker in body – although you will always remain quite thin – and a bit taller.  We expect you will likely be about six feet tall when you complete your growth,” Seraphina supplied in answer, smiling gently at Jack’s enthusiasm.

Jack grinned excitedly.  “Awesome!  I won’t be the shortest guy around anymore!”

“Jack?  You’re accepting this amazingly well.  Do you have any thoughts, concerns, questions?  Perhaps an emotional outburst or two?” Eirlys questioned, with a sly grin on the last statement.

Jack shook his head, saying, “I’ve kind of gotten used to weird crap happening to me.  After all, I _died_ and came back to life, with ‘magic powers,’ of all things.  I’ve met and am now _friends_ with Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, the Easter Bunny– I’m _dating_ the Easter Bunny, for goodness’ sake!  Turning into a Pooka seems like a bit more of the same weirdness that is common to my everyday life now.”

Jack frowned at that thought, asking, “Speaking of which, _why_ am I a Pooka?”

Before anyone could answer him, Jack suddenly yawned expansively and felt a heavy wave of exhaustion overtake him.

“What the…?” he murmured drowsily.

Old Man Winter noted dryly, “You have just undergone a massive change – of _species_ , no less, frostling.  You will likely sleep for several days.  I suggest you rest now, frostling.  We will explain everything to your friends and they can inform you later when you wake.”

Jack, already half-asleep, hummed, “Mmm ‘kay.  Sleep…sounds…good….”

Jack passed out to the sounds of Aster’s strong, steady heartbeat and the susurrus of his friends asking a million questions at once.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

The first thing Jack noticed when he awoke was Aster’s heartbeat, still beating steady and strong.  He shifted slightly and stretched, nose twitching as his whiskers brushed Bunny’s chest fur.

_Wait…_

Jack’s eyes shot open as he examined his left – paw, the memory of what had happened coming back to him in a rush.

“God, this is going to take a while to get used to,” he muttered.

“Merry Christmas to you too, Snowflake,” Aster murmured cheekily as he surfaced from a light doze.  “Glad to see you awake, mate.”

“It’s Christmas already?  I’ve been asleep for _four days_?” Jack exclaimed.

Aster nodded.  “Yes.  It’s not all that unusual; when a Pooka first learns how to shapeshift fully into another form, they tend to spend a couple days asleep afterward from the effort.  You basically coupled that with extreme magical and physical exhaustion after a major battle.  I’m actually surprised you didn’t sleep _longer_.”

Jack eyed his lover oddly.  “Wait.  You can _shapeshift_?  How come I didn’t know this?  Wait wait.  Does that mean _I_ can too?”

Bunny chuckled at Jack’s reaction.  “Yes, I can change shape and yes, you will be able to too.  _Eventually_.  You need to get used to _this_ body first, mate.”

“I’m still not sure what to make of all this.  Or my new body, for that matter,” Jack groused.

Aster eyed Jack lasciviously.  “ _I_ think you’re a beaut, mate.  Truly.  You were a very attractive human before, Jack.  As a Pooka…”

Bunny shuddered lightly as he reined his libido in.

Jack flushed as his ears went flat against his skull, his fur spiking slightly across his cheeks from frost at the evident lust he invoked in his partner.

“You still think I’m attractive?” the sprite queried softly, unsure of his new appearance.

Aster looked at Jack like he’d lost his mind.  “Of course I do, you drongo!  You’re still the Jack Frost I’ve come to know and – love,” he stuttered slightly on that word, still not used to saying it, before continuing, “and you do make a _very_ fine-looking Pooka!  You just need to get used to yourself, mate.  You’ll see.”

Jack nodded, reassured, both by the verbal compliments and the way Aster was eyeing him, half in obvious desire and half in wonder.  He started slightly when he felt a slight poke in his belly.

“Um, Aster?  Should I take care of that?” he asked shyly.

Bunny sighed gustily, his ears going flat in both annoyance and embarrassment.  “Nah, mate.  I need to calm down.  Old Man Winter chided me quite thoroughly that we should avoid _sex_ of any kind for at least a week, while you get used to your new body.”

“Oh God.  You got a shotgun talk from _Old Man Winter_?” Jack giggled helplessly.

Bunny flushed dark enough that Jack could see it through his fur.  Jack’s eyes widened.

“In front of _everyone_?”

“Yes,” came the curt reply after a moment.

Jack couldn’t contain himself any longer and burst out laughing against Bunny’s chest.  Aster promptly pushed him out of bed in mock annoyance.  Jack continued laughing on the floor for a minute before slowly trying to climb to his feet.  He made it to his knees before he wobbled and fell forward onto the bed again.  He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, still a bit shaky, but managed to look up at Aster’s amused-despite-himself face and grinned.

Well, that was until his ears flopped forward into his face again.

“Ack!”

Aster chuckled at Jack’s distress, even as he reached out and gently pushed Jack’s floppy ears aside.

“Serves you right, laughing at me!” he mock-scolded, before growing a bit more serious.  “So, there’s lots of things I need to tell you, mate, but first: would you like some breakfast?  It _is_ Christmas morning, after all.”

Jack grinned at the suggestion and nodded as he asked, “Help me to the kitchen?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the second chapter written already, but I'm still tweaking it a bit. It'll go up tomorrow when I'm satisfied. Many questions Jack will have, yes?
> 
> Also: My most favorite piece of [Pooka!Jack/Bunnymund art](http://sourgoat.tumblr.com/image/38529875017) I have found to date!


	2. Morning Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been rather overwhelmed by the response to my work so far. I would like to thank everyone for commenting once again! It's surprisingly motivating. ^_^

There was a knock at the front door just as Aster got Jack settled in a chair at the kitchen table.

“It’s probably Raven,” Aster commented off-handedly.  “He volunteered to play messenger between all of us while you slept and I stayed here to take care of you.  I’ll be right back.”

Jack listened as Aster answered the door and the two spirits exchanged greetings in Chinook Jargon.

“Jack!  So good to see you awake!” Raven exclaimed by way of greeting as he entered the kitchen in front of the other Pooka.

 _God, it hadn’t occurred to me of how surreal this must be for Aster_ , Jack suddenly thought, struck by the idea that there were now _two_ Pooka.  _I hadn’t even considered how this must make him feel._

“’s nice to _be_ awake, Raven.”

Raven chuckled softly as he took a seat at the table.

“Joining us for breakfast, mate?”

“I wouldn’t want to impose –”

“Raven, I grow enough food in the Warren to feed a small army.  I _think_ I can spare some of my stores for you.  ‘Fraid all I have is vegetarian-style foods though.  Meat doesn’t settle well with us _rabbits_ ,” Aster added, emphasizing the last word while eyeing Jack.

Jack started at the idea, before grinning at Aster, saying, “Aster.  Have I yet to complain about the lack of meat since I’ve been here?”

Bunny gave Jack a confused glance as he prepared a light salad.

“You ate some at North’s…?”

“Actually, that was tofurkey.”

Raven nodded in agreement.

Aster looked aghast at the idea.  “ _Fake_ meat?  No wonder it smelled funny.  What’ll humans think of next?  And why didn’t Frige cook any actual meat for your birthday dinner?  I hope it wasn’t just because I was there.”

“Hardly.  Frige consulted with me first.  I’ve been pretty much a vegetarian for the last 270 years or so.  I stopped being able to eat meat when it occurred to me that animals were basically the only creatures that could see me besides other spirits and I didn’t want to scare them off; I greatly preferred their company over their meat.  Well, that and making a cooking fire quickly became a very uncomfortable experience.”

Aster nodded thoughtfully.  “Huh.  I’d never thought about it that way, mate.  Makes sense though.”

Bunny finished preparing the greens for the salad and set about mixing a light, fruity dressing.  Jack grinned happily when he noticed which ingredients he was mixing.

“I love that dressing!”

“Really?  I’ll have to make it for you more often then, Snowflake,” Aster replied cheerfully.

“Snowflake?  Aster, are you going all soppy on us then?” Raven teased.

Bunny stiffened slightly, his ears going flat against his skull in embarrassment.

“ _I_ like the endearment, Raven, so don’t give him any crap for it, or I’ll freeze your feet to the floor,” Jack warned.

Aster shot Raven a triumphant smirk over his shoulder before returning his food preparations.  Raven held up his hands in surrender.

“Okay, okay!  I was just teasing!  So Jack, what has our dear Aster told you so far?  About the conversation we had with your ‘family’ after you fell asleep?”

Jack gave Raven a weird look when he said ‘family.’  Raven just chuckled in response.

“I guess they are, huh?”

“By magic, if not by blood, yes.  So?”

“We wanted to have breakfast first.  Although I did find out about the ‘shotgun talk.’”

Aster growled something unintelligible, but sounded quite annoyed.

Raven smirked – well, Jack assumed it was, given his beak made most of his facial expressions rather odd – and said, “That was hilarious!  You should have _seen_ Aster’s face!”

“Oi!”

“What?  It _was_ hilarious!  I swear, even Uttuqalualuk was secretly laughing at you!”

“Uttuqalualuk?” Jack queried, before his mind translated the Inuit word.  “Arcturus?  Who is that?”

Aster growled again, angrily this time, much to Jack’s confusion, but before he could ask, Raven answered him.

“Oh, I forgot you were asleep for all of that too.  Apparently, Arcturus is Old Man Winter’s _actual_ name, at least if Mother Nature addressing him as such is to be believed.”

Jack spluttered for a moment, before giggling helplessly.  Raven joined him a moment later.

Aster turned around to stare at the two giggling buffoons.

“What are you drongo’s laughing at?”

“‘Uttuqalualuk’ is one of the Inuit names for the star, Arcturus,” Jack explained when he got his giggling under control.  “It means ‘old man.’”

Aster stared at Jack for a moment.  He then started chuckling as he turned to finish breakfast.

“Enjoying yourselves, I see,” came Old Man Winter’s voice on the light breeze that blew through the kitchen window.  “I rather _like_ the name Uttuqalualuk, I will have you know.”

“Joining us, Grandfather?”

“Yes, I –” came the reply, before he grunted in annoyance.

“What is it?”

“Not at this time, unfortunately.  I sense several – _wayward_ – Winter spirits that need my – _personal_ – attention.  Seems they think you have not sufficiently filled the General’s place in my daughter’s Court.  I will return when I have ‘informed’ them that they are incorrect,” he stated darkly, before the breeze drifted back out the way it had come.

Jack perked an eyebrow.  “I believe that there will soon be a few less annoying Winter spirits for me to deal with.  Hurray?”

Raven shrugged.  Aster grunted as he turned around, balancing three plates in his paws.

“Here you two go,” he announced as he served breakfast.

“Thank you, Aster,” Raven and Jack said in perfect unison.

“Jinx!” Jack called out, cackling afterward.

Raven sulked.  “Drat.”

The avian spirit stood and moved over such that Jack could poke him in the arm.  Jack grinned maniacally as he did so with a grand flourish.

Aster rolled his eyes.  “Trickster spirits will be the death of me yet, I just know it.”

“I love you too, Kangaroo.”

“Oi!”

 

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After breakfast, the three spirits retired to the sitting room, Aster helping Jack walk still, although he was starting to get the hang of how his legs worked.  Raven took an armchair while Jack and Aster claimed the chaise longue.  Jack ran a finger across the wooden frame.

“Aster.  I’ve been wondering for a while what wood you used to craft all your furniture.”

“Hmm?  Oh, I take you don’t recognize it?  I’m not surprised.  It’s not commonly available.  That’s _pinus longaeva_.”

Jack frowned, before his eyes widened.  “Those are endangered!  Where did you get so much wood?  And at this age…?”

“Oh, I have several groves I keep hidden in the recesses of the Warren that mimic the natural alpine conditions that the bristlecone pines grow in.  I transplanted several dozen trees when I first built the Warren and have used my experience and techniques to grow them into a small forest.  I harvest wood when I need it, which isn’t often.  My oldest trees are around 3,000 years old.  I’ll show you them sometime, if you like.”

“I’d like that,” Jack replied with a fond grin.

_Trust Aster to preserve endangered plant species._

“So, about me…”

Aster and Raven grew more serious.  Aster spoke first.

“So.  It seems that there is a problem.  You are the first part of the cure,” Bunny began.

Raven continued, “When they reanimated you – do you know how _rare_ that is? – they instilled a ‘seed,’ for want of a better word, in you that would, to continue the euphemism, ‘germinate’ over the course of several hundred years.  They had planned to have a conversation with you in another hundred years or so to explain all this and let you get used to the idea.”

Aster cut in, saying gruffly, “It seems that when Pitch destroyed my species, he created an imbalance.  A massive one; I did not realize it was this bad.”

Raven nodded.  “Jack, the death of the Pooka threatens everything.  Whenever the Pooka discovered a new planet with nascent life, they would dispatch a family or two of Pooka to safeguard and shepherd the planet.”

Jack nodded his understanding.  “So they were the shepherds of life in the galaxy…universe?”

“Galaxy,” Aster confirmed.  “We apparently never perfected space travel beyond the Milky Way.  Without my species, whole planets have been going unguarded.  We never were able to accurately count how many Pitch destroyed in the first place, but we don’t even know how many countless life-bearing worlds may have been lost in the millennia since the Pooka died.”

Jack broke in, the proverbial light bulb turning on in his head.  “Oh!  So these ‘seeds’ are spirits that will eventually turn into Pooka!  That way we can repopulate the species and continue to guard all life, not just Earth’s!  But…isn’t that too small of a gene pool?”

“Frostling,” Aster said softly.  “That is what they call you.  In Pookan, it can mean two things, depending on how you write it.”

“Do you mean like how there are different kanji in Japanese for the same concept that mean completely different things, depending on which are used?” Jack queried.

“Yes,” Bunny replied as he nodded.  “Raven, can you hand me that piece of chalk and small blackboard on that shelf over there?”

Raven quickly passed Bunnymund the requested items.

“Thanks, mate.  Here, Snowflake, see this?” Aster said as he wrote out something that reminded Jack strongly of a cross between Egyptian hieroglyphs and Japanese kanji.

Jack nodded.  “That’s ‘frostling?’”

“Yes.  Written like this, it is what the Winter Pooka referred, fondly, to young who were older than kits but not yet adults; basically, it means ‘Winter Pooka who is young.’  However,” Aster explained as he erased one complex character and replaced it with another.  “Written this way, it means ‘Winter Pooka who is All-Father’ or ‘All-Mother.’  The characters are pronounced the same, with only a slight emphasis difference between them.  My people would understand the difference implicitly through context.”

“Like Japanese, yes.  I can see that.  Only one character for either male or female though?  Japanese tends to differentiate genders, even in similar phrases like this,” Jack queried.

“I told you that Pooka are shapeshifters, remember?  Gender is somewhat transient for us, mate.  If I really wanted to, I could become female, or even genderless.  The majority of Pooka stuck to whatever gender they were born as though.”

“Okay.  That makes sense.  So your language – our language, I guess.  You’ll have to teach me sometime,” Jack replied with a gentle smile.

Jack could see how pleased his lover was at the idea.

“So, what does ‘All-Father’ mean then?”

“It means that your genetics are…randomized, I guess is the best word.  You can birth Pooka of all four subspecies.”

“There are four?  Wait, _birth_?”

“Again, Jack.  Shapeshifters.  Internally, we are actually always hermaphroditic.  Don’t worry about it right now.  It’s not going to be an issue until you’re ready.  And, yes, there were – _will be_ – four.  We are tied in some ways to the seasons.  I am a Spring Pooka to your Winter.  There were also Summer and Autumn subspecies.  We can mutually interbreed, of course, but we never created crossbreeds, just one or the other, depending on the parents.  But you can breed all kinds.  And with unique genetics too.”

“Magic for the win!” Jack noted cheekily.

“What are you on about now?” Aster asked in confusion.

Raven crowed in amusement.  “Poor Easter Bunny, not keeping up with modern slang.”

“I keep up with Australian slang just fine, you show ponies.”

“Not Internet slang, apparently.”

“What’s this ‘Internet?’”

Raven and Jack sighed, long-suffering.

“You are so old fashioned, Aster.  How did I end up with you again?” Jack teased.  “So, wait.  You mentioned that there were families sent to every habitable planet that spawned life.  Were you from one of those families, Bunny?”

“No, actually.  I was born on the home world and grew up there.  I did visit Earth once and met its guardian-shepherds though.  Earth was one of the planets that had the distinct privilege of being overseen by the Ancients.”

“Okay, now you lost me.  Ancients?”

“The oldest of the elder Pooka.  It was rumored that some of them were even the First to walk our world.  The Ancients were all named for stars instead of plants, like myself.”

“Which is why Aster here responded so oddly to Old Man Winter’s name.  It reminded him of the Ancients,” Raven noted.

Bunny nodded.

“So, let me get this straight,” Jack said.  “I’m a spirit that was designed to turn into a, what, Pooka baby factory?  To repopulate the species and protect not just Earth’s children, but everyone’s everywhere?”

Raven titled his head to look at Jack with one eye.  “I’d say that about sums it up, yeah.  Not very kindly, but it works.  Keep in mind that there are other spirits out there too, so you’re not the only one.  You don’t have to start producing babies by the truckload or anything.”

“I feel faint,” Jack squeaked.  “That’s a big responsibility.”

Bunny nodded seriously.  “But they would not have chosen you if they did not think you were up to the challenge.  And, Jack, remember: you don’t have to face this alone.  I’m here.”

Jack smiled at the reminder and snuggled closer to where he lay against Bunny’s chest.

“Yes, you are.  Love you, ‘Roo.”

Aster shorted at the nickname.  “Love you too, you bloody show pony.”

“I see you two are busy being affectionate.  Am I to take it that things have been explained sufficiently then?” Old Man Winter asked as his chilly breeze wafted back into the burrow.

“Yes, I think things have been, Grandfather.  You’re finished with those spirits already?”

Winter chuckled darkly.  “Yes.  I do so enjoy _scaring_ spirits to death.”

The way the ancient spirit emphasized his statement left no doubt in Jack’s mind that he was being _literal_.

“I have a question, Grandfather.”

“Ask, frostling.”

“Why is your name Arcturus?”

“I have not used that name in a long, long time, frostling.  I do believe that Seraphina only spoke it that night to force me to come out of hiding.  I suppose it is for the best, however, given that our plan is starting to bear fruit.”

“What were you hiding from?” Jack queried, confusion evident in his voice.

The breeze blew through the room more heavily for a moment as Old Man Winter sighed gustily.

“I suppose it is time.  It has been long in coming.  I was hiding from Pitch, frostling.  He took everything from me and I was too weak then to stop the destruction of everything.  If not for my dear, beautiful, lost Asteria…”

Aster gasped in recognition.

“You – you’re not saying…?” Bunny whispered in shock.

“Yes, youngling, that is what I am saying,” Old Man Winter said as he materialized out of the air.

The other three spirits gasped, for this was not the form they recognized.  It was one Aster had not seen in over 12,000 years and never thought he would see again.

“I am Arcturus, Guardian-Shepherd of Earth, the First Wanderer, Eldest of the Winter Pooka.”


	3. Arcturus' Secret Shame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Arcturus didn't want to talk about these things. Jack made him do it anyway.
> 
> Bah, this scene was not suppose to take over the chapter! Apparently Jack's really good at getting people to talk....

Standing before Jack was Old Man Winter – _Arcturus –_ but not as a ten foot tall human.  Rather, he was a nine foot tall _Winter Pooka_.  His ears were quite long, extending almost two feet above the top of his head.  Just like Jack, he was completely white, although with the faintest hint of blue at the tips of his ears, tail, and muzzle, rather than gray.  His eyes were a piercing sapphire blue, hard and melancholy.  His age was evident in his appearance, his whiskers having gone a dusky blue-grey and a slight inch-long beard of chin-fur hanging in a neat goatee from the end of his muzzle.

Arcturus’ outfit was like nothing Jack had ever seen.  The best description for it was a cross between a robe and a scale hauberk.  The material appeared to be something similar to wool, or perhaps cotton, with lightly scaled patches on the shoulders, forearms, and hips.  The base cloth was a deep ultramarine while the metallic scales were of a lighter cerulean shade that glimmered in the light.  The non-scaled portions of the outfit were trimmed in intricate silver embroidery.

The sleeves extended down to slightly overlap the backs of his paws, with triangular bits of cloth extending to a thin circular cord that wrapped around his middle finger.  Another small, diamond-shaped patch of cerulean scales adorned the backs of each hand.  The bottom hem of the hauberk was the most interesting part of the ensemble – it curved from just below the hip-scales down to a point just below the knee on both sides, with a split up the center all the way to the waistline, where an azure-dyed, silver embroidered leather belt held the outfit snuggly in place.  The pointed tips of the hem between his knees were also covered in patches of cerulean scales.

His staff was quite different.  It appeared as gnarled now as it had been ram-rod straight before.  Still oak, but almost ashen in shade, as if it had been exposed overlong to a fire.  The butt was blunt this time, but the top was a large knot that had had its center knocked out and replaced with a perfectly spherical, and _fist-sized_ , star sapphire of exquisite beauty and radiance.  The pure white asterism in the sapphire was so crisp that Jack had never seen its like – and he had beheld both the Black Star of Queensland and the Star of India.

Just as Jack finished taking in the effect, he was roughly pushed to the side as Aster stood and quickly moved to stand before the towering form of Arcturus.  Bunny’s arms were held tightly against his sides, paws fisted in fury, as he glared up the two feet that separated his eyes from Winter’s.

“You!  You left me alone!  You let me think I was the _last_!  _How could you_?” Aster shouted, before suddenly jumping up and throwing a sharp right hook at Arcturus’ face.

Bunny’s fist connected with a sharp ‘thunk.’  Winter’s head snapped to the side, but only just, before he turned his considering gaze back to the shorter Pooka before him.  He shifted his jaw back and forth for a moment, causing it to let out a loud cracking sound.

Aster glared as he shook his paw, before his anger went out like a candle and he cradled his paw to his chest.

“Crikey,” he groaned.  “Why is your face so bloody hard?”

Arcturus smirked faintly.  “Practice.  Did assaulting me make you feel any better?  If so, I will gladly take whatever you have to throw at me.  I rightly deserve it after leaving you alone for so long.”

Bunny shook his head, sighing as he said, “I think I’m good.”

Aster turned to rejoin Jack on the chaise longue, only to find Jack shakily moving from chair to chair in the room, testing them with his paw.  Jack stumbled when his shin banged the coffee table.

“Ow….” Jack muttered, leaning over to rub his leg.

“What are you doing, you larrikin?”

“Finding the comfiest chair,” Jack replied as he moved to test another chair.  “Aha!”

Jack turned and pointed at Old Man Winter and then at the chair.  “You!  Sit!”

“Now, frostling –”

“No.  You will sit in the comfy chair and _I_ will interrogate you until you _confess_ everything!  Now, sit!” Jack growled, cutting the elder spirit off and pointing at the chair again.

Raven started cackling despite himself.  Aster and Arcturus simply looked confused, although the ancient spirit obeyed and sat where instructed.

“What are you on about now, you dill?”

Raven and Jack both sighed, saying together, “Philistines.”

“Jinx!” Raven crowed.

“Crap,” Jack groused, stumbling and tripping over the coffee table and landing with his head in Raven’s lap.  “Um….”

Raven cackled and poked Jack in the back of the head, before he teased, “I know you’re interested in a threesome, Jack, but is now really the time?”

Jack squeaked as his ears went flat against his skull in embarrassment and he scrambled to get out of the avian’s lap.  He succeeded, but simply ended up on his ass on the floor.  Raven helped him stand and sit in the chair across from Winter.

The other two Pooka were gazing at Jack warily.

“What?”

“Nevermind, Frostbite.”

Arcturus rolled his eyes as he asked, “Frostling.  It seems that you have questions and are intent on getting answers whether I wish it or not.  Given my failure regarding your mate, I will answer what I can.  It is the least I can do.”

Jack nodded as he thought over what he wanted to ask.

“So.  I suppose my first question is simply ‘why?’  Why have you remained hidden from Aster for so long?  Why did you do it?”

Arcturus sighed gustily, a light chilly breeze blowing through the room as he did so.  Aster shivered.

“Do you really have to do that, Old Man?” Bunny complained.

Arcturus cocked an eyebrow.  “Yes, actually.  It is a side effect of my powers that has grown beyond my control.  It comes with age and absolute sovereignty over my season.  I remember – hrm, it would be ‘Cepheus’ in this language, I think – wherever Cepheus would walk, flowers would bloom and grass brighten and grow.  He was of the Spring, like yourself.”

“That happens when Aster’s rabbit holes close,” Jack offered.

Winter’s still cocked eyebrow twitched.  “I see.  That is a good sign, one of growing command over your season.  Perhaps I underestimated you, Aster.”

Aster simply nodded confidently, arms crossed and expression closed as he reclined on the longue.

“To answer your question, frostling,” he then said, turning to address Jack.  “Why?  Well, as I first said, it was to hide from Pitch.  As I was then, I was not strong enough to face him.  No one was.”

Jack frowned.  “Then how did Nightlight defeat him if he was so powerful?  By accident?”

Arcturus shook his head.  “It was no accident.  Nightlight did defeat Pitch on his own merits.  However, it was only after – after –”

Jack waited patiently as Winter shuddered at the memory he was dredging up.  He understood how some memories hurt no matter how long it had been.

“After Asteria sacrificed herself to weaken him enough for Nightlight to do so.”

Before Jack could ask, Aster gasped out, “ _Asteria_ sacrificed herself!  _Mother Nature_?  How did this world not fail immediately in the backlash?”

Jack and Raven both frowned in confusion.

Raven asked, “Mother Nature?  But isn’t that Seraphina…?”

Arcturus nodded.  “Seraphina immediately took on the role of Mother Nature when Asteria died.  The transfer of power prevented a cataclysm.”

Jack asked the obvious question.  “Who was Asteria then?”

“My mate.”

Jack gasped at the pronouncement.

“She loved this world so much.  She sacrificed herself in a ritual that weakened the Nightmare King greatly.  She ensured that Seraphina, who had volunteered, was present to immediately shoulder the mantle.  It was – a difficult time.  I mourned for many millennia.  This – this is why I failed to contact your mate, frostling.”

“You were in mourning?  For the last 12,000 years?”

“In a fashion, yes.  I have never fully recovered from her loss.  In the beginning, I was so blinded by my suffering that I did not realize that another had survived the Genocide.  I became aware of your Aster only after he, and the other Guardians, defeated Pitch at the close of the Dark Ages.  Before I could decide whether to present myself to him or not, he returned to hibernation.  When he reemerged several centuries later, I decided against opening the old wounds that both of us carry.  It was perhaps the wrong choice, but I made it all the same.”

Jack glanced at Aster where he lay reclined on the chaise longue.  Bunny was curled up defensively, arms crossed and face sour, but a note of sympathy was visible in his expression.

_Good,_ Jack thought.  _He deserves his anger, but it would be unhealthy to hold onto it for too long.  Everyone made mistakes here, Grandfather perhaps most of all._

“Okay.  Before I get to my own questions, I was wondering – how long have you been here?  How old are you, if I may ask?”

Arcturus drew himself up and took a deep breath as he gestured at his garments.  “You see what I wear, frostling?  It is as much a badge of office as a legacy of my species.  These were only worn by the First Ones.”

“Sivulliik,” Jack noted softly as Bunny gasped.

Winter nodded.  “Yes.  I know not how, but the Inuit knew about me, to a degree, and called my namesake star both _Sivulliik_ and _Uttuqalualuk_.  ‘The First Ones’ and ‘Old Man.’”

Aster interjected in shock, “You are one of the First?  I thought that was just a myth!”

Arcturus smirked faintly.

_His expressions are always so mild,_ Jack mused.  _Is that because he yet mourns?_

“I am, youngling.  Did I not name myself ‘Eldest of the Winter Pooka?’  I was one of the First to walk our world after our Creation.  Of those that remain, I alone have seen the Face of God.  We dutifully bred our species and the Pooka flourished, protecting all of Creation that we could reach from the Darkness.  To answer your question, frostling, I am – unsure how old I am, by your reckoning in Earth years.  I do know that I am older than your star, Sol.”

Jack’s eyes widened in shock.  Raven let out a weak caw of surprise.  Aster was already too shocked to react further.

“I have been on this planet since – hrm, I believe your scientists would term it the late Mesoproterozoic Era, during the Stenian Period.  I was witness to the formation of the supercontinent your scholars call ‘Rodinia.’”

Jack blinked several times as he collected himself.

“That – that would mean you have been on Earth for over a billion years!  Wait, wait.  Your powers are winter-based.  Have they always been?”

“Yes.  All life-bearing planets were eventually dispatched at least two of us.  An ‘Old Man Winter’ and a ‘Mother Nature,’ if you will.  One of the Winter and one of any other season.  Asteria was of Summer.  We balance the cycles.”

Jack frowned, intrigued.  “ _Eventually_?”

Arcturus looked mildly embarrassed.

“Yes,” he replied shortly.

Jack considered the information before him for a moment.  A thought struck him.

“The Cryogenian?”

Arcturus’ ears sagged precipitously in embarrassment.  After a minute, he sighed.

“Yes.  I was the First Wanderer.  The first to leave our system.  It was I who found Sol, found Earth.  I was the first Guardian-Shepherd.  I – made a mistake, in my youthful ardor.  The ‘Snowball Earth’ theory your human scientists are so hotly debating?  It is all but true; I froze nearly the entire planet, save a thin strip across the equator that was all of ten miles across at its widest.  It took the arrival of Asteria to set things to rights.”

Arcturus grinned slightly.  “It was then that I fell in love with her.  Seeing her work – it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.  It was only superseded by the birth of our first litter.  Seeing my daughters for the first time –”

The other spirits waited patiently for the Eldest to move past his remembered grief.

Winter shook himself.  “It was our experiences here, on Earth, that led to the requirement of at least two, and preferably more, since not all of us were ‘Ancients’ by that time, to shepherd life.  Did you three know that there were once more life-bearing planets in this system?”

Jack blinked in surprise.  “Really?  What happened?”

“Pitch.  Before Asteria worked out how to defeat him, he destroyed or sterilized all the others, save Earth.  Venus, Mars, Europa.  Saturn’s rings are the remains of another world, whose name I have long since forgotten.  My – our – children oversaw each and every one of them.  They – they died, defending them to the last.  _All of them_.  There were so many….”

“It is not your fault, Grandfather,” Jack offered gently, placing a paw on Arcturus’ knee.  “I’m sure you did everything you could.”

Arcturus shook himself visibly.  “Yes.  I know that now, but it took me many millennia of grieving to come to that understanding.  Has Aster told you how quickly we can breed?”

Jack shook his head.  “I suppose it is similar to rabbits…?”

“Yes, in some ways.  Each of us has a season – you could call it a heat or a rut, if you prefer – that lasts for around three months.  It varies from individual to individual.  When we are so, it is possible for either or both partners to become pregnant, given the correct circumstances.  Pregnancy lasts six months.  My mate and I bore many, many litters.  Thanks to her being of Summer, the litters were never of less than four kits and sometimes her litters were as great as eight.  All told, we had over two hundred children, spread across this system and the next two nearest.  I never had an accurate count of how many grandchildren I – we – had….”

Arcturus took a deep, fortifying breath.  “But, enough about me.  I’m sure you have other questions, frostling.”

Jack paused as he absorbed all this information.  It was really quite amazing to have a being of such great age sitting here before him.  Jack touched Arcturus’ paw in wonder.

Arcturus cocked his head to the side, ears alert.  “This knowledge, does it change things between us?  To know of my shame, my failure?”

Jack shook his head.  “No, Grandfather.  I know it not to the depth that you or Aster feel it, but I _do_ have some understanding of what is must be like, to know that all that was yours is dead and gone.  If anything, the knowledge helps me to understand who you are and what you have become.  And it not just your shame I know of, but your pride and your great work.  This world is a testament to that.”

“I am – glad.”

Jack offered a hopeful smile, before quirking an eyebrow at Aster inquisitively.  Aster sighed gustily after a moment.

“Fine, fine.  Bloody show pony.  I understand too, Old Man.  Still angry though.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, youngling.”

“So,” Jack began innocently.  “You said I would be growing?”

Arcturus smirked slightly, saying, “Yes.  Don’t think I didn’t notice your excitement at getting to be _taller_ , frostling.”

Jack’s ears drooped slightly as his cheeks frosted.

“You will grow to be around six feet, in all likelihood, as was said.  I do not expect your build to change overmuch, although you will notice a distinct strengthening of your musculature as you get used to your new body.  Pooka have always been quite strong; at our weakest, we can usually be equal to the best humanity can offer.  We were designed to be warrior-protectors, after all.”

“And I am to be a baby factory?”

Arcturus grimaced.  “Must you phrase it that way?  I never wanted to force the seeding on any spirits, but the only time to grant it to them is when they are made.  It cannot be granted after, although it can be taken away.”

“Really?  I could choose to not be like this?”

Jack ignored Aster’s sharp inhale for the moment.

“You could have chosen before the transformation, but not now.  I am sorry that the choice was taken from you before we could discuss it with you.  You have the General to blame for that.”

“I know and I understand, even if I am having trouble _accepting_ it, at times.  This is all just so much to take in.  Could I postpone the rest of my questions for another time, Grandfather?  I’m getting tired.”

“Of course, frostling.  Fatigue at this stage is not unexpected.  I will make myself available to you when you are ready to ask more questions.  Aster,” Old Man Winter replied, before calling for Bunny’s attention.

Bunnymund quirked an eyebrow.

“I will remind you again that your mate, for all that he appears to be a ‘teenager’ in body, is very much a kit in experience and bodily control.  _You will remember this_ and account for it in your actions.  Understood?”

“Yes, _Old Man_.  I do.”

“Good.  I shall depart then.  Call for me if you need me, frostling.  Ugla has been keeping an ear out for me, just in case.”

Arcturus dispersed into diamond dust and was gone, taking his chill wind with him.

“Well, that was…enlightening,” Raven mused.  “I think I will take my leave and go tell the others that Jack is awake.  Oh, before I forget: North is having a small get together tonight, for Christmas, and asked if you two would come – presuming Jack was awake and felt up to traveling, of course.”

Jack glanced at Aster, who shrugged.

“Presuming I feel well this evening, you can send our tentative acceptance.”

“I will be off then.  I hope to see you tonight.”

Raven let himself out of the burrow.  Jack moved unsteadily to join Aster on the longue.  Bunny’s arms wrapped around Jack reflexively.  He could tell something was bothering the other Pooka and was pretty sure of what it was.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jack asked softly as he cuddled into Bunny’s chest fur, purring contentedly.

_That is still so weird_ , Jack mused in response to his purring.

“About what?” Aster replied evasively.

“About me asking if I could have been changed back?”

Aster’s grip on Jack tightened in response.

“I want you to understand, Aster, that I do know how much this means to you and, given the choice, I wouldn’t want to change back.  I really do understand how happy you are at the thought of kits.”

Bunnymund said nothing in response.  He did, however, cuddle Jack closer and start chinning his head.  Jack continued purring softly, content to lay there and doze off for a bit.

Everything else could wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nobody expects the Jackson Inquisition! XD
> 
> [Sapphires](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapphire#Star_sapphire), for those who are interested, along with the [Black Star of Queensland](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Star_of_Queensland) and the [Star of India](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_India_%28gem%29).
> 
> [Mesoproterozoic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoproterozoic), for the curious, which links, in turn, to the Stenian Period and Rodinia. [The Cryogenian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryogenian), during which the theoretical Snowball Earth may have occurred. It is still a hotly debated topic.


	4. The First Week

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting. I got quite busy the last two days and lost a fair bit of writing time.
> 
> Enjoy!

As parties go, Jack figured that North’s Christmas party had been pretty good.

In hindsight.

During the party, however, he had spent so much of his time banging his shins, knees, and elbows on furniture and doorframes that it was somewhat difficult to enjoy; he lost count of how many times he stubbed a toe on something or someone.  And then there were the _elves._   The elves that were constantly underfoot, trying to ‘help’ him get around.  All those annoying little elves managed to do, however, was trip Jack up at every turn, causing him to fall on his face or ass several times.  In the end, Aster gave up and carried a bruised and tired Jack home.

The after-party cuddles in their nest had been really nice though, so there was that.

The next day, after breakfast, Jack and Aster went outside and spent much of the day out in the fields as Jack learned to walk all over again.  Aster had even woken up early and made them a picnic lunch of fruits and vegetables.  There were even several small carrot cupcakes.  Jack decided then and there that Bunny was an awesome cook.  The cupcakes had been crazy delicious!

Bunnymund followed that up by having them do it all over again the next day.  With more yummy cupcakes.

Jack was feeling much better about walking around by the third day.  He still stumbled and bumped into things on a fairly regular basis, but he was usually able to avoid falling over.

Usually.

In fact, he had felt so happy about this that he managed to convince Aster to make a proper carrot cake.  The cake had been great, awesome, _amazing_ even, but it had also led to what Jack now referred to as the ‘Flour Incident.’

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Aster was busy gathering ingredients for the carrot cake that Jack has requested.  He had attempted to refuse, at first, since he’d already given Jack a lot of sugar in the last two days, but Jack knew just how to look at him with soulful puppy eyes to get him to cave.

 _Works every time,_ Jack cheered mentally.

“Hey Frostbite, could you grab that bag of flour over there?” Aster requested distractedly at one point, busy as he was recounting and re-measuring what he’d already gathered.

Jack chirped a cheerful “On it!” and moved over to the small stack of flour bags, happy to be useful.  Hefting the top bag, Jack turned around just as Aster realized his mistake.

Bunny spun on the spot and started to shout “Wait,” but was cut off by a crash and a face full of flour.

Jack had tripped over his feet again and fallen on top of the bag he was carry, causing it to burst.  A huge cloud of flour was drifting through the air of the kitchen, slowly settling in to coat them both.  Jack and Aster stared at each other for a full minute before Jack started laughing helplessly.  Bunny was only able to maintain his frown for a few more seconds before he join the winter sprite in laughter.

“Wind!  Can you clear this mess out of here before it settles?” Jack called.

The Wind spun cheerfully through the kitchen and caught as much of the flour as it could and blew it outside.  Unfortunately, that still left all the flour that had settled into their fur.

“Cooking will have to wait, mate.  Time for a bath.”

Jack groaned.  “Really?  That’s going to take _forever_ with all this fur.”

“Quite your whining.  It’s high time I showed you how to groom yourself properly.  Come.”

Jack whined again, defiantly, but stood up carefully and padded out of the kitchen, leaving white powdery pawprints in his wake as he followed Aster.  He came to a full stop in the doorway of the bathroom, or ‘loo,’ as Bunny called it.

“Aster…?”

Bunny grinned at Jack.  “Yes, mate?”

Jack hadn’t entered the room before and several things occurred to him all at once.  Firstly, that the tub, which was carved directly out of the stone of the burrow, was fucking _huge_ – it could probably fit eight people comfortably – and, secondly, that there was no toilet.  Thirdly, that he hadn’t felt the need to use a toilet in days… months… years?  He wasn’t sure.

“Firstly, that tub is ginormous!  Secondly, why don’t you have a toilet?  More importantly, why can’t I remember the last time I went to the bathroom?” Jack exclaimed as Aster began running water from half of the dozen taps.

Aster chuckled as he replied, tossing several small tablets into the rapidly filling tub as he spoke, “Carved it myself.  And, of _course_ there’s no toilet.  You just _now_ noticed that spirits don’t have to eliminate like mortals?”

Aster picked up a bottle of something that smelled quite flowery and squirted a liberal amount into the tub.  It started getting bubbly.  Jack gaped for several moments, and then rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, dislodging some of the flour and causing himself to sneeze.

“Gesundheit.”

“Thanks.  Um, yeah, I just noticed,” Jack murmured, his embarrassment evident as his ears flagged and his cheeks frosted.

“Spirits don’t have waste materials, like mortals do.  In mortals, they have to eliminate because their bodies do not use everything they consume.  Spirits do.  Whatever doesn’t go towards feeding them physically is consumed as fuel for their magic,” Aster explained as he swirled a paw through the water, testing the temperature.  “Perfect.  Come on, let’s get in.”

Jack moved over to the tub as Bunny switched off the taps and slid in, sighing happily.  He tentatively swished a paw through the water.  His ears perked up in surprise.

“This water is only lukewarm!  Aren’t you cold?”

“Really?  I assumed anything warmer would be too hot for you.  Come here a sec, mate.”

Jack leaned over carefully.  Aster placed a paw against his forehead and concentrated for a moment.

“Huh,” Aster said as he pulled his paw back, slightly alarmed.  “You’re warmer than usual.  Are you feeling alright?”

Jack slowly climbed into the tub as he said, “I’ve noticed the last couple days that I’ve had both hot flashes and, strangely, _cold_ chills.  I’m not feeling ill, so maybe it has something to do with my transformation?”

“You should check with – the Old Man, later.  Just to be sure.”

Jack nodded, ignoring the hitch in Aster voice as he mentioned Arcturus.

_Still a sore point, I see._

“So, about this grooming thing,” Jack prompted, smoothly changing the subject.

Aster spent the next hour showing Jack how to properly groom himself with various combs and brushes.  They ran more warm water as needed to keep the bath from going cold.  Bunny had a waste basket next to the tub to deposit any fur they removed from each other.  Considering that Jack was a bit turned on by the whole process – being rubbed and brushed all over by his lover was a rather arousing experience, after all – he was disappointed when Aster didn’t take things further, even though he knew they weren’t supposed to.

Later came the cake.

 _This is what heaven must taste like,_ Jack mused happily as he ate.  _Who knew carrots could be so delicious?_

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Unfortunately, over the course of the next day, Jack broke a dozen ceramic bowls, half a dozen ceramic plates, and two ceramic water jugs.

He was summarily forbidden from washing the dishes until further notice.

“It’s okay, mate.  We can always make more.  I’ve broken my share over the centuries.  That’s why I don’t usually decorate them much,” Aster soothed when Jack expressed his distress at breaking so many things in one day.  “Speaking of which, why don’t we work on that today?”

“What?”

“Making replacements.  Come on, it’ll be good for your hand-eye coordination.  It’s kind of fun too, when you get the hang of it.”

Which is how, half an hour later, they ended up covered in clay.

At least Jack had managed to make one bowl before the jug he was shaping exploded everywhere.

“How did you make it _explode_ , you larrikin?  I don’t even –” Aster exclaimed, flabbergasted, as he picked at the bits of clay stuck to his fur.  “Well, there’s nothing for it.  We’ll have to go take another bath.”

Jack wilted in defeat.

“No worries, mate.  The bowl you made is really good for a first try.”

“Really?” Jack replied hopefully.

“Really really.  Now, come on and toss me your hoodie there; I’ll set it out to soak in the wash tub.  I’ll clean it after we bathe.”

Two hours later – apparently, clay was _really_ hard to get out of fur when it started drying without losing huge tufts of fur in the process – Jack finished toweling off as he wandered in to the nest room.  Aster had wandered off to quickly launder his hoodie and would return with fresh blankets and bedding materials in a bit.  Jack tripped when his footpaw caught on the edge of the little set of drawers where Bunny stored his extra bracers and other clothing items.  He caught himself with a hand on the wall, although he was surprised to find that that particular section of the wall had a little give to it.

Investigating further once he’d regained his balance, Jack discovered that Aster had installed a large standing mirror in that section of the wall, which spun in place so it could be hidden from view when not in use.  It’d been over a week since Jack had last had a look at himself and he’d been wearing his hoodie at the time, so it had obscured several features that he was just now noticing.  Including –

_I have markings!  They’re so faint though…._

The markings were an extremely pale shade of grey, only visible in his fur at the moment because of how clean he was.  The branching, feathery pattern strongly resembled a Lichtenberg figure.  The pattern started on his forehead, dead center, just above his eyebrows and curved over the top of his skull and down the back of his neck, where it took a gentle forty-five degree turn and wrapped around his torso once, crossing his front from right clavicle to left nipple and then curving back around to cross the small of his back just above his tail and terminating on his right haunch, squarely in the middle of the cheek.  It seemed to darken slightly as he examined himself.

_Cool!  It’s still growing in; looks like it’ll get darker over time.  I wonder what it will look like when it’s finished._

As Jack twisted back and forth to get a good look at his markings, he discovered how fluffy and silky his freshly washed fur was.  He also noticed that his chest fur was a bit thicker across his pectoral muscles, thickening towards the middle, with the thickest tuft centered just under his suprasternal notch.  It was when he was examining the markings across the small of his back that his fingers brushed against his tailbase.

“Ooooh,” Jack groaned lightly at the touch.

Curious, he turned his rump towards the mirror and rubbed his fingers around the top and bottom of his tailbase.  This caused his tail to start twitching reflexively and brought forth another, deeper moan.  He felt a tightening sensation in his sheath.

 _Wow, that’s sensitive,_ Jack thought as he rubbed his tailbase further, moaning once more as he started to poke out of his sheath.  His toes curled lightly against the stone floor in pleasure.

A heavy thump sounded behind him.  Jack glanced over his shoulder in response.

_Uh oh._

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Aster hated Santa’s elves with a passion.  Especially that ‘Easter elf,’ Zygmunt, who kept trying to convince Aster to take him home – No, just no.  They spent the majority of the Christmas party following Jack around like he was a shiny new toy to play with and tripped him up at every turn.  He finally got fed up and took Jack home before he did more than bruise himself.  The young Pooka was obviously tiring quickly anyway.

The next day, he got up extra early and managed to slip out of the nest without waking Jack and prepared their breakfast and a nice, light lunch.  He even baked a few quick carrot cupcakes, thinking that they’d be a good treat for Jack.  When Jack padded softly into the kitchen, he was just finishing putting their lunch in a basket.  Aster was initially impressed that Jack hadn’t stumbled or tripped on his way in, but quickly realized that was just because the sprite was operating on instinct when he went to pull out a chair and took a tumble instead.

After breakfast, he took Jack out into the fields surrounding the burrow with the aim of getting him to wander around, stretch his legs, and work on learning to walk properly with his new legs.  When they stopped for lunch, Jack was quite happy with the food Aster provided and simply devoured the cupcakes.  Bunny was quite happy himself that the food had gone over so well.

He did notice, however, that whenever Jack managed to wander around without tripping for a bit, he moved in just the right way to show off his rump and thighs in a complimentary way, which was quite distracting.  It wasn’t until later the second day, when they went out for another picnic-walk, that Aster also realized that the sprite wandered in circles around him as he worked on his walking.  _That_ was simply maddening and he really had to work to avoid getting aroused by Jack’s, probably instinctive, actions.  He decided he would have to explain about courting behaviors eventually, but not now, as it would only serve to make Jack self-conscious of his movements and ruin their efforts in improving his coordination.

And then there was the ‘Flour Incident,’ as Jack had taken to calling it.

After Jack had tried out Aster’s cupcakes for two days straight, he outright begged Bunny to bake him a proper carrot cake.  Unable to say no to Jack’s puppy dog expression, he caved without much resistance.  It was as he was reviewing all the ingredients that he made a grave mistake.

In his distraction over whether his recipe called for four or five eggs, he asked Jack to bring him a bag of pastry flour.  He noted in the aftermath that Jack had been happy to be useful, but Aster ultimately regretted the request, since they both ended up completely covered in flour.  Ah well, it only meant that it was time to teach Jack about grooming and bathing as a Pooka.

 _Oh dear God_ was that a trying experience.

After Jack’s little freak out about not eliminating anymore as a spirit – it was rather cute, actually – and Aster’s freak out because Jack’s temperature was fluctuating, Jack joined him.

And got all _wet_.

Aster had to work very, very hard to not jump the poor teen right then and there.  It was probably the sexiest thing he’d seen Jack do since the wet dream incident and all Jack did was just _sit there_ _all covered in water_ , especially the way the wet fur brought out the curve of Jack’s lithe musculature quite attractively.

It only got worse when he started showing Jack how Pooka grooming worked.  Having Jack rub and brush him was extremely arousing.  It was all he could do to avoid unsheathing and taking his lover with an urgency he’d not felt in centuries, not since that one time when Raven had teased him mercilessly during one of his ruts with a feather after tying Aster down.

He’d never hated a prohibition against certain physical activities so much in his _life_.

After that, Aster was a walking bundle of unresolved sexual tension.  He ended up eating a small piece of chocolate that night that was something of a reverse-aphrodisiac, just to ensure he wouldn’t wake up rutting against his lover in the morning instinctively.

The next day, Jack decided to do the dishes while Aster was outside washing his linens.

Well.

That was mistake number one.

But no matter, they could just make more.  Jack could use the hand-eye coordination practice anyway.

Mistake number two.

Aster advised that they bathe immediately to get the clay out their fur before it started drying and became impossible to get out without scissors and bald patches.  At least Jack showed promise at making pottery, if his rather well crafted, especially for a first time, bowl was any indication.  But first, a bath.

Oh, was that _ever_ mistake number three.

He managed to forget how sexy a wet, dripping Jack was.  He had no idea _how_.

Probably temporary insanity.

Barely containing himself after the two hour bath – clay took _forever_ to get out fur without damaging their pelts – Aster proceeded to dash outside to cool down and take a couple minutes to scrub Jack’s hoodie clean.  It didn’t take much work, since it had soaked for the two hours they bathed and that kept the clay moist enough to remove easily.  He still wasn’t sure how Jack’s hoodie never seem to stain.

Drying it quickly with a short pass, in a pot, through the clay oven, he headed back inside, gathering up the dried linens and a fresh bale of bedding material.  The large stack obscured his sight, but he didn’t need to see where he was going to navigate his burrow; its layout was etched into his memory after centuries of living there.  Padding down the hall quietly, he entered the nest room and turned to set his bundles down on a nearby table.

They never made it that far.

As he turned, he reflexively looked at movement out of the corner of his eye and froze in place, stunned and immediately aroused beyond anything he’d felt earlier.

Jack was _fondling_ his tailbase and _moaning_ , tail twitching erotically.  His penis was just starting to poke out of his sheath, a tantalizing peak of pale pink against the sprite’s pure white fur.  He was half-turned towards the mirror and _oh god he was so sexy it hurt._ Aster felt himself growing hard in an instant.

His load of laundry and bedding materials fell, his hands having gone limp and numb in his shock, hitting the floor with a loud thump.

Jack turned to look and froze, glazed eyes wide and surprised.

_That’s it.  I’m done for._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Lichtenberg Figures](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichtenberg_figures), on Wikipedia, the branching, feathery patterns left by electric discharges on or in insulating materials, such as the burns left behind on a lightning strike victim. Very cool looking, if painful to acquire.  
> [Suprasternal Notch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugular_notch), for those who haven't studied anatomy.


	5. Jack is a Very, Very Naughty Pooka

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smutty smut smut incoming! Have fun!

Jack noticed several things all at once.

Firstly, his hoodie was clean.

_Yay!_

Secondly, there was a large pile of blankets and bedding materials on the floor.

_So that’s what made the noise._

Lastly, and most importantly, Aster was _hard_.  Rock hard.  He got to watch as Aster went to full, rigid mast in under three seconds.

 _Huh_.

Experimentally, Jack twitched his tail.

Aster’s member twitched in turn and his lover stifled a moan.

_Aha!_

Jack smirked seductively.

Aster groaned.

Very slowly, Jack lifted one hand from his rump, but otherwise didn’t move yet, and quirked a finger at Bunny, beckoning him forward.  Aster took several steps forward instinctively before pausing.

“We – we – we’re not supposed to – to do anything yet,” he gasped out, quivering slightly in his arousal.

“I believe the admonition was ‘no sex,’” Jack commented airily.  “ _Not_ ‘no masturbation.’”

Jack sauntered over to Aster as he opened his mouth to say, “But –”

Jack lightly pressed a finger to Bunny’s mouth, effectively silencing him.

“Ssh.”

Jack then lightly slid the finger down Aster’s jaw to play lightly with his chest fur for a moment, before starting to move in a slow circle around his stunned lover, trailing his finger in a random path around Aster’s body as he did so.  He paused briefly to squeeze Bunny’s tailbase, eliciting a deep groan, before continuing to circle back around to the front.  He tugged on Aster’s ear, causing the other Pooka to lean over.

He lightly ran a single fingertip up the side of Bunny’s cock, eliciting a whimper as he whispered in his ear, “Sit.”

Aster hastily collapsed to sit on the edge of the nest, his willpower to resist almost gone.

Jack grinned slyly as he palmed his own half-hard cock and let out a thin whimper of his own, never breaking eye contact with Aster, who groaned in response.

“Touch yourself,” Jack commanded.  “I never got to see last time.”

Aster whimpered helplessly at the reminder of the wet dream incident that started everything.  His control shattered, he willingly complied with Jack’s command, moving to quickly satisfy his lust.  A gentle frown from Jack gave him pause.

“No,” Jack whispered as he leaned against the wall across from Aster, stroking his nearly erect member.  “ _Slowly_.  I want to _savor_ this.”

Aster moaned softly as his stroking slowed down to a more measured pace.

“Good.  _Very_ good,” Jack complimented, before he continued authoritatively, “You _cannot_ come until I say you can.”

Aster whimpered even as he nodded, his gaze transfixed by the sight of Jack gently teasing himself.  They got lost for several minutes watching each other slowly masturbate, each one echoing the other when he let go a sound.

“Aster,” Jack called to get his lover’s attention.  “Lean back against the pillows.  _That’s_ it.  Now spread your legs just a bit.  Mmm, _yes_.  I can see your tight little tailhole now.  I’m going to have to tap that someday, but for now….”

Jack trailed off as he lifted a leg to set his footpaw on the low table next to him and spread his cheeks a bit, flashing Aster a tantalizing view of his own tailhole.  Jack then slipped a finger into his mouth and sucked hard, eliciting a groan from his partner.

After a moment, Jack pulled his wet finger out of his mouth and moved it to push ever so slightly into his hole.  He moaned at the sensations, Aster’s echo following a moment later.  Jack began to pump the finger lightly in and out, matching the speed of his other paw on his cock almost immediately.

“You want this, don’t you?” Jack questioned softly.  At Aster’s hurried nod, Jack continued, “When our little prohibition is up, I think I might just let you.  Won’t that be _fun?_ ”

Aster moaned deeply as he nodded again, whimpering shortly afterward as his cock twitched and let out a particularly hard spurt of precum.

“Uh uh uh, Aster.  No coming until I _say_ you can.  Or I’ll have to _punish_ you, and you wouldn’t want that, now would you?”

Aster moaned again and spurted a bit more precum despite himself, but otherwise complied with a half-shake, half-nod of his head, apparently unsure whether he wanted to be punished or not.  Jack chuckled darkly at the picture Aster made before him.

“Mmm, yes.  _Very_ good, Aster.  Now, you just stay like that while I –”

Jack sped up his paw on his shaft, while his finger pushed in deeper to stroke over his prostate.  Jack moaned deeply before doing it again.  Jack groaned loudly as he came, hard, all over the floor.  Aster groaned at the sight, but complied and kept his pace slow as Jack had instructed, despite the desperate need to come himself that had him reflexively curling and uncurling his toes rhythmically in time with his stroking.

Catching his breath, Jack slowly swaggered over to the nest and straddled his lover, his still hard cock hovering just above Aster’s slowly moving paw.  Jack lightly moved Bunny’s paw out of the way.  Bunny whimpered at the loss of friction.  He was obviously very close.

“You can come now, lover,” Jack whispered as he pressed down with his cock and frotted against Aster’s quivering penis.

Aster let out a deep, long moan and came all over both of their chests in several long, hot pulses.

Jack allowed himself to collapse to one side and cuddled up against Bunny, nuzzling into his shoulder.

“Now wasn’t that fun?” Jack teased.

Aster groaned again, before he replied, panting, “You – you randy little show pony.”

Jack laughed lightly.  “You seemed so pent up.  I would never have thought, given how distant you’ve been all week.”

Aster turned his head to gaze at Jack incredulously.  “Mate, do you have _any_ idea how much you’ve been _teasing_ me all week?”

Jack perked up, intrigued.  “How so?”

Aster groaned faintly at the memories.  “Just the way you move when you’re not being self-conscious is enough, but then you were circling me on our picnics.  It was all I could do to not _mount_ you during our baths.  And then your little tail – do you have any idea how _erotic_ it was for me to walk in on you playing with it?”

Jack traced the curve of Aster’s chin lovingly.  “I’m sorry; I never meant to tease you so.  I’ll be more aware of myself in the future.”

Jack grinned inwardly, thinking, _oh, will I ever be aware of myself!_

Aster nodded distractedly as he noticed the mess on his stomach for the first time.

“Look what you made me do!”

Jack smirked seductively.  Aster’s eyes widen warily.

“I guess we’ll just need to take another bath then, won’t we?” he asked innocently, eyes alight.

Aster whimpered.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

In hindsight, Aster rather thought he’d made a fourth mistake that day, confessing how Jack had been teasing him accidentally all the time.  Because, if he thought that was unbearable, Jack in the two days since their time together in their nest – who knew his submissive, little Jack had such a dominant streak? – then Jack knowingly, ‘accidentally’ teasing him mercilessly was just so –

Aster shivered and suppressed the memories of how Jack had been carefully, slowly, moving through the house, always in front of him, twitching his tail occasionally and swaggering just right to show off his rump and thighs.  Yes, Jack still stumbled and tripped at times, but he was improving on that score immensely, no doubt because he was so focus on driving Aster _mental_.

When Aster would sit down in a room or out in the fields, Jack would wander aimlessly about, or seemingly so, examining various things in the area or performing some light cleaning.  However, it never failed to escape Aster’s attention that Jack just so _happened_ to be circling him slowly each and every time.

Jack had even taken to not wearing his hoodie while in the Warren, leaving it hanging on a hook in the nest room.  This only made matters worse, as Aster could now admire the way Jack’s shoulders rolled when he shrugged, or how his back arched becomingly when he stretched.  He would get turned on just watching Jack reach for something above his head as his gaze was invariably drawn to stare at Jack’s taut stomach.  And whenever Jack bent over to pick something up, there was always a little tail wag that revealed, for the barest of moments, a hint of his tight, pale pink little pucker.

On New Year’s Day, the last day of their prohibition against anything sex – which Aster was convinced they’d already violated, no matter what Jack said – the troublesome sprite decided that they simply _must_ have a celebratory dinner.  It _was_ New Year’s, after all, and they hadn’t gone to North’s party this year, due in no small part to Jack wanting to avoid the tripping hazards called ‘elves’ and Aster wanting Jack all to himself.

He could be selfish sometimes.

You know, when he felt like it.

Aster was preparing a lavish little feast for the two of them when he realized he didn’t have any rosemary.  Checking over all the ingredients for the last dish he had laid out, he confirmed that he’d forgotten to pick some from his garden.  He also noticed that he had gotten down one platter too many.  He distracted asked Jack to put it away as he darted out to his herb garden to grab a handful of rosemary.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack looked up from the geology book he was idly reading when Aster spoke.

“Mate, could you put this platter back on the top shelf over there?  I need to go grab some rosemary from the garden,” Aster asked distractedly as he dashed outside.

“Okay!” Jack called after the swiftly disappearing Pooka.

He set the book aside and carefully made his way over to the counter and picked up the metal platter.

 _Shiny_ , he mused as he glanced up at the high shelf.

Deciding there was nothing for it, he carefully climbed up into a kneeling position on top of the counter.  He wobbled for a moment, but caught himself by grabbing a carved stone shelf.  Steadied, he set the platter in place without knocking anything down.  It was as he turned to climb back down that he noticed the little rose-colored crystal jar in the back corner of one shelf.  It appeared to have little candies in it.  Curious, Jack grabbed the jar carefully and peaked inside.  The lid took a moment to pop off; apparently it was self-sealing.

_Neat._

Inside he found about a dozen small rose-shaped chocolates that smelled faintly of raspberries.  Intrigued he snagged one and popped it in his mouth.

_Yummy!_

Replacing the jar, he absently chewed the sweet treat, swallowing the raspberry-flavored confection as he climbed down off the counter.  Aster returned just in time to witness that, a panicked look on his face.

 _No doubt he expected me to break something_ , Jack mused, only mildly annoyed.

Aster sighed in relief.

 _Yup_.

Jack grinned and gave a little hop of happiness.

“I didn’t break anything! Whoa –”

Jack wobbled on his landing, but Aster’s strong arms cradled him and prevent a spill.  He could smell rosemary in the paw next to his face.

“Careful there, mate.  Since you did so well putting the platter up, would you like to set the table?  I just need to chop this up and mix it into the soup and it’ll be ready to go.”

Jack nodded happily and complied.  He grinned cheerfully in success when the table was set without any damage.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Dinner went over well.  Jack complimented him on his cooking yet again, which just made Aster smile.  It was nice to be appreciated.

Over the course of the meal, though, Jack had apparently gotten it in his head to play footsie.  It was kind of nice, adorable really, the way that Jack started out, simply rubbing his toes against Aster’s now and again.  He got a bit more adventurous about half-way though dinner, though, and started lightly running his toes up and down Aster’s calf.  This continued, intermittently, for the rest of the meal.

It was when Jack’s toes started questing up his thigh that he finally spoke up.

“Um, Frostbite.  What are you doing?”

“What’s it look like?” Jack said airily as he, quite suddenly, touched his toes to Aster’s sheath, lightly teasing the area.

Aster shivered.

“Really, mate.  Can’t this wait –”

Jack cut off Aster’s protest by pressing firmly against Aster’s sheath with the pads of his footpaw.  Aster suppressed a groan.

“Can we have sex?” Jack requested out of the blue.

“I’m sorry, what?  But the prohib – oooh,” Aster started to protest, but was cut off again as Jack caught his sheath between his two largest toes and began stroking gently up and down.

“It’s only a few hours.  Let’s have sex,” Jack declared as he leaned forward on one hand.

That was when Aster caught a whiff of his breath.

_Uh, what?_

“Um – Ja – Jack, why do I smell cho – chocolate on your breath?” Aster queried breathlessly.

“Oh, I found a little red jar while I was putting the platter away.  Can we have sex now?”

Aster honked in surprise.

“Jack!  Those chocolates are Raven’s aphrodisiacs for when he helps me with my ruts!”

“Oh.  Okay.  Sex?” Jack replied off-handedly, glazed eyes meeting Aster’s for the first time since they’d started talking.

Jack continued lightly rubbing Aster’s sheath between his toes, which was making it harder to talk without his breath hitching.  He was getting aroused really fast and if Jack didn’t stop that soon –

“Now, Jack, we really shouldn’t – not – not when you’re ba – basically d – drugged –”

“Anal sex?”

Aster groaned as he shot out of his chair, grabbing Jack out of his seat in turn and pulling him flush against Aster’s body.  Jack gasped deliciously in surprise.

_Oh dear God, was the teen ever hard!_

Aster smashed their mouths together in a hot, needy kiss.  Jack moaned into it as Aster’s tongue plunged into the wet, hot-cold cavern of Jack’s mouth.

After barely a minute of kissing, Jack’s fists kneading handfuls of Aster’s chest fur the entire time, Bunny pulled abruptly away and swept his arm across the table, knocking the remains of their dinner to the floor.

Jack giggled as several plates shattered on the floor.

“You broke the dishes,” he observed giddily.

“We’ll make more,” Aster growled as he flopped Jack down on the table.  The smaller Pooka’s chest and stomach were pressed against the hard wood as his arse hung tantalizingly over the edge, with Jack’s erection throbbing just under the edge and already dripping precum.

“What are you _ooooooooh_ ,” Jack started to ask, but his question was cut off by a sinfully delicious moan as Aster fell to his knees and immediately began rimming the sprite.

“Mmmm, yeah.  Oh Aster!”

Jack was a right noisy bugger when he was getting rimmed, wasn’t he?

_Wonder if he’ll be that noisy when I’m buggering him…._

After a couple minutes of lathering Jack’s tailhole with his tongue, he pushed his long tongue through the tight little pucker, earning another one of Jack’s amazing little breathy moans for his effort.  He wiggled his tongue around inside, tapping it lightly against the sprite’s prostate, which earned him even more arousing sounds out of the teen.

Satisfied with the rim job, Aster pulled away, immediately earning himself a needy whimper, which was quickly replaced with a moan when he lightly licked Jack’s still tight hole.  Stuffing two fingers in his mouth and slathering them in saliva, he then pressed one finger into the sprite, shortly followed by the second as he began to loosen Jack up.

Meanwhile, Jack was quite happily moaning and whimpering in turn, breathlessly whispering Aster’s name intermittently with half-compliments that were never completed before another moan cut him off.  Satisfied Jack was finally ready, Aster stood and immediately placed his tip against Jack’s entrance.

“Are you ready, mate?” he asked breathlessly, teasing Jack with tiny thrusts of the tip of his cock, just barely parting the tight ring of muscle.

“ _Yesss,_ ” Jack hissed eagerly, pushing back against Aster.

That was all the encouragement Aster needed.  He thrust gently forward several inches, eliciting a happy sigh from Jack that turned into a needy whimper as he pulled almost all the way out before pushing back in, getting another inch inside.  This repeated several times until Aster’s balls slapped against Jack’s as he fully seated himself inside, pausing momentarily to let Jack adjust.  Aster groaned at the contact.

Jack giggled as he said, “Balls touching!  We’re gay now!”

Aster pulled out an inch and thrust back in, hard, in retaliation for Jack’s cheekiness.  Jack moaned and pushed back, begging for Bunny to continue.

“You asked for it, mate.”

Aster pulled nearly all the way out and thrust back inside, setting a slow tempo that had Jack squirming in his grasp within minutes, begging for Aster to go faster.  Aster complied after teasingly stroking Jack’s rock hard cock under the edge of the table, before letting go and planting his paws on the table top.  The speed of his thrusts began increasing at a slightly unsteady pace as he brought both of them closer and closer to orgasm.  Jack moaned and writhed and whimpered and begged beneath him all the while, setting his veins on fire with the erotic combination of sights and sounds.

Finally nearing his peak, Aster leaned forward on one elbow and wrapped his arm around Jack, taking the heavily leaking cock in hand and pumping in time with his thrusts.  It only took seven strokes for Jack to scream his name and come all over the underside of the table and the chair across from them.  The rhythmic squeezing of Jack’s passage ripped Aster’s orgasm from him after another couple thrusts as Aster buried himself balls-deep in the smaller Pooka, growling his own release.

Momentarily spent, Aster flopped backwards into the chair that was still standing behind him, pulling Jack with him so he could stay inside the quivering body for a bit longer.  Jack’s head rolled backwards to land on Bunny’s shoulder, glazed eyes cheerily gazing up at him.  Jack stretched his neck up to claim an awkward kiss.  Before the kiss ended, Jack started squirming in Aster’s lap, thrusting against the larger Pooka in an attempt to encourage him to start again.

“More sex?” Jack begged when their mouths parted, a string of saliva connecting their lips for a moment from the wet kiss.

Aster felt himself go fully hard again at the breathy tone in Jack’s voice and happily complied.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

After several hours of absolutely fucking _amazing_ sex – which had moved from the kitchen table, to a chair, and then on to the bedroom for several more bouts in various positions – Jack found himself curled up against Aster, happily humming in his afterglow.

Aster quickly drifted off, thoroughly shagged out.  Jack giggled at the thought, as he’d used one of Bunny’s slang terms.  The elder Pooka must be rubbing off on him.

Jack giggled again at his phrasing before cuddling closer and sighing contentedly.  Aster reflexively tightened his grip on Jack’s shoulder.  Jack settled in, ready to get some much needed sleep before the morning.

An hour later, Jack was still wide awake.

Two hours later, he was starting to go a little crazy.

He’d never noticed how _noisy_ the Warren was at night.

He could hear night-time insects buzzing, chirping, and flitting about, not to mention the quiet grinding sound of stone against stone as the sentinels patrolled the further reaches of Aster’s underground kingdom.  He swore he could even make out the swaying sound of branches in the light breeze that drifted through the windows and down the hall.

It was another hour before Jack managed to ignore the noise sufficiently that he could drift off into an exhausted sleep, resolving to ask Aster about all the noise in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooo, double dose of smut! Aren't I nice? XD


	6. Pooka 101

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I blame kayasurin for the new AIM account I created. :P  
> I do get tired of the slow comment-chats on here at times, especially since I find so many of my commentors to be really interesting to talk to. So, in the interest of entertaining myself (and hopefully others), I've created "clevercorgi" as an AIM ID just for this place. If anyone wants to chatter at me while I'm online (which is almost always, since there's an app for my phone), feel free! Just ID yourself in a way I'll recognize from here.  
> Oh, please keep in mind I'm in the Pacific Time Zone (UTC-8; UTC-7 when on daylight savings time).
> 
> Anywho, enough of that and on with the story!

Jack’s ear twitched at the sound of a chair scraping across the floor, but he resolutely ignored it and rolled over to go back to sleep.

Jack’s nose twitched.  Twice.  Three times.

_Huh?_ Jack sleepily thought.  _I smell…_

Cabbage.  Parsley.  Citrus – oranges.  _Strawberries_.

A variety of other scents started assaulting his nose, which caused him to salivate a bit as he woke up despite himself.

_Breakfast… smells yummy…._

Jack sleepily crawled out of bed and shuffled down the hall, bumping into the wall every couple feet.

His nose twitched again.

_Ooooh, tea… wait… not just_ any _tea… is it really…?_

Finally stumbling into the kitchen and knocking over a drying chair set to the side – there was a darker patch on the seat, kind of like a stain, which looked freshly scrubbed and smelled faintly of lemon –

_Wonder what that’s all about…?_ Jack mused distractedly until his eyes locked on the table.  _Nevermind that…._

Jack blundered over to where he could see a steaming cup of _Da Hong Pao_ tea, ready and waiting for him.  He barely noticed the pleasant soreness in his rump as he sat down, so focused was he on the tea.

_Mine!_

“ _Oh my god_ Aster, I love you!” Jack exclaimed as he grabbed the cup and took a sip.  “Aaaah.  _So good_ ….”

Aster laughed from his position at the kitchen counter.  “Thought you’d like that, mate.  Considering your Colonial roots, I figured you’d be rather fond black teas.”

“Fond is _not_ the word I would use for how I feel about _Da Hong Pao_ ,” Jack rejoined, taking another steaming sip.  “More like _worship_.  Where did you _get_ this?  It’s so hard for me to get my hands on.  The quality of the brew is just _amazing_.”

Aster grinned at Jack proudly as he finished preparing their breakfast salads.

“I have tea plants all over the Warren.  There’s a Da Hong Pao bush on top of the burrow, in a special nook I created for it.  You heard the legend about the ‘Big Red Robe’ plants and that Ming dowager?”

Jack nodded.  “Something about a tea that cured her of an illness and her son, the emperor, placed a red robe over the four plants that had grown the tea.  Only three have survived to the present day….”

Aster grinned smugly as he set Jack’s bowl in front of him.

Jack’s eyes widened.  “No… you’re _not_ saying….”

Aster nodded, still smug.

“ _You have the_ _fourth plant?_   Oh my god, Aster, I love you!” Jack declared again, happily sipping at his tea.

“Love you too, Snowflake.  Don’t forget to eat your breakfast while you’re ‘worshiping’ your tea.”

Jack stuck his tongue out at Aster in reply, but he did set down his cup and picked up his fork to take a bit of his salad.

“Oh my god Aster, _what did you do?_ ” Jack exclaimed, closing his eyes in bliss.

Aster looked at Jack in confusion and mild alarm.

“Is something wrong, mate?”

“God, no.  It’s just so _delicious_.  Even better than you usually make!”

“I didn’t do anything different….”

Jack shrugged as he munched happily on his food, intermittently taking sips of his tea.  He said nothing more as he devoured his breakfast at top speed until he settled back against his chair, tea cup in hand, sighing contentedly.

“You’re the best, Aster.  I don’t know what you did, but that tasted so much more awesome than usual!”

Aster frowned.

Then his eyebrows twitched and his eyes lit up.

“… Jack, did you have any trouble getting to sleep last night?”

“Oh!  I was going to ask you about that.  Why is the Warren so _noisy_ at night?  It took me like three _hours_ to get to sleep after you passed out.”

“Well, I was rather shagged out, but that’s not the point.  I wonder….”

Aster darted out of the room before Jack could ask any questions, returning after a moment with two little bottles of pale blue paint.

“Are these the same shade of blue or different?” he asked.

Jack set down his cup and took the proffered bottles.  Examining them carefully, he decided that they were different, albeit barely, and said as much.

Aster nodded as if Jack had confirmed something.  “That’s right.  That one there, in your right paw is called ‘Celeste’ and the other is a slightly lighter shade of the same.  The shades are so close that most humans can’t tell the difference.”

“But they’re obviously different.  How…?”

Aster reclaimed the bottles and set them aside.

“Jack, it appears that your senses are, for lack of a better phrasing, ‘turning on.’  Pooka have heightened senses of smell, taste, and hearing and we can see more colors than humans do, as well as slightly into the ultraviolet range of the spectrum.  It has to do with a slight difference in the structure of our eyes, like many varieties of birds –”

“We’re _tetrachromatic_?  That’s just awesomely epic!” Jack interjected in surprised joy.

Aster blinked.  “I forget how well-read you are sometimes.  Yes, Pooka are tetrachromats.”

“That is so _cool_!  Trichromats can only see about one million different colors, but that means that we can see around one _hundred_ million!  But enough about that – what’s this you said about ‘heightened senses?’  And why didn’t I have them to start with?”

“I was – _informed_ ,” Aster began, grunting at his word choice.  “That your various senses would start improving rapidly after about a week or two.  Seems they were a might long in their expectations, mate, seeing as how it’s already happening.  I was also told that you’d be settled after about a day or so.”

Aster smiled.  “As for the heightened senses in general, you should be able to work out how to filter out the background noise of the Warren with a little practice.  It just takes some getting used to.  Scents will be stronger for you, as well, and I can probably start teaching you to track by scent in a couple weeks, once you’re used to it.  Your taste buds are also much more sensitive and, combined with your nose, will make consumables much more enjoyable.  I don’t recommend North’s usual cookies, though – _way_ too sweet for us.  Frige knows how to make cookies I can eat, though, so she’ll just have to get used to making them for the both of us.  Speaking of –”

Aster looked around for a moment and then called out, “Zygmunt!  Get your tiny little arse over here!”

Jack raised an eyebrow questioningly, but the Easter Elf popped into existence over his head and fell on it before he could voice his question.

“Ow!”

Zygmunt giggled and hopped off Jack’s head, causing his ears to flop in his face, to land on the table and present himself inquiringly to Aster.  Jack complained about his ears and the unfairness of how Zygmunt _always_ landed on his head while Aster turned his attention to the annoying creature.

“Go inform Frige that Jack is now only allowed to eat my cookie recipes.  And that he has the same ‘cannot eat’ list.  Got that?”

Zygmunt chattered at Aster for a moment as Jack watched.  Aster nodded and the elf disappeared.

“I thought you didn’t like the elves, especially that one?” Jack queried.

“You’re right… but that one is at least useful as a messenger sometimes.”

“What’s the ‘cannot eat’ list?”

“There are about two dozen or so things we simply can’t have; they make us sick.  Mainly certain ingredients that Frige and North are fond of, which is why I gave her a list.  Nothing I keep around the Warren, certainly.  Several varieties of lettuce are the worst offenders; we vomit them right back up within minutes.  It’s why all my salads are cabbage-based, although romaine is alright, in moderation.  I’ll show you the full list the next time we’re over there.”

“Okay.  So, what’s the plan for today?”

Aster grinned.  “You’re going to be exercising.  You need to learn how to run and hop.  I’ve got a training area all set up for you.”

Jack groaned.

“What are you, my physical therapist?”

Aster’s grin turned wicked.  “ _Yes_.  Think of me as the worst possible cross between a sports coach and a physical therapist.  This is going to be _fun_.”

Jack groaned again.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack spent the entirety of January and February being put through the grinder, figuratively speaking.  He was shown how to run on all fours, how to hop, how to jump – which was apparently different – and even started basic sparring again at the tail end of the second month.

Aster hadn’t been kidding when he said he had a training area ready.  It had a large, elliptical, and relatively level area cleared of anything beyond short grass and the occasional random flower.  Jack was initially required to run the outer edge of the clearing for one mile – four laps, it just so happened – twice a day, once bipedally and once quadrupedally.  Aster increased this to two miles and then four as Jack’s lap times improved.

Jack refused to admit it out loud, lest Aster gloat that his training regimen was working, but he really was starting to get the hang of moving around, although he was still occasionally clumsy when just walking upright.  While running, however, he rarely fell while bipedal, and never did so while quadrupedal – at least, once he got the hang of it.  It was really weird for about the first week, but afterward it started to seem the most natural way to move around.

When Jack asked about it, Aster admitted that kits always learned to walk on all fours first, then hop, and then, finally, when they were about two or three years old, to walk upright properly.  Sure, they could stand by the end of the first year, or even earlier, but walking more than a couple feet was just not how their bodies were designed at that age; they would reflexively revert to quadrupedal movement if they needed to go any real distance.  The only reason they’d started him out walking upright was because it was already normal for him and Aster had figured it would take less time for him to relearn it than some entirely new form of movement.

When it came to learning to hop and jump, Aster had setup a rock wall, similar to what rock climbers might practice on, but with larger ledges spaced unevenly up and down the cliff face.  At the bottom of the cliff was a deep pool to cushion any falls.  The height of the wall was designed such that even a fall from the topmost ledge would not allow Jack to accelerate to a velocity sufficient enough for the water to become more like concrete than water.

Jack was quite thankful for that, but he was still uncomfortable with the idea of falling into the pool, which reminded him sharply of his pond where he’d drowned.  His discomfort was made plain when he fell in the first time and panicked, reflexively turning the surface of the pool to ice in his fright.  In hindsight, Jack realized that was the biggest bout of magic he’d done since becoming a Pooka – and he’d done it _without_ his staff.  He was moderately impressed, despite himself, and Aster agreed, telling him that they should really work on his powers at some point so that he wasn’t quite so dependent on his staff the next time he fought a major battle.

After that first accident, however, Aster made sure he was always floating in the center of the pool while Jack worked, ready to collect him whenever he fell, just in case.  Jack felt that it was really sweet of him and made sure to give him lots of ‘thank you’ sex in return.  Aster certainly never complained about the arrangement.

The sparring was interesting and definitely the most fun part of his training.  While they were still going slowly, owing to Jack having to relearn his balance, he was really enjoying learning the styles of martial arts that took particular advantage of his new body.  Especially all the kicking and acrobatic maneuvers he could now pull off.  He was thoroughly enjoying himself, despite all the physical activity – although, come to think of it, probably _because_ of it, since he was now much more coordinated than before.

February turned into March, and they had to pause most of their activities to begin preparations for Easter.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Arcturus kept a silent vigil over the young Pookas during the frostling’s training.  Out of respect for Aster, he never manifested or gave away his presence with a chill wind; he watched all the same, sometimes hovering, dispersed through the moisture in the air, and sometimes through Ugla’s eyes, when he had other business to attend to, like the periodic attempts by upstart spirits to usurp Jack’s claim to the Knighthood of Winter.

Not that Jack knew about that yet.

He did _so_ enjoy scaring those upstarts though.

He only visited once during this period, when Jack called for him to ask about his randomly fluctuating body temperature.  Arcturus had informed the frostling that it was to be expected while he finished growing into his body and it worked out a new equilibrium.  The fluctuations would persist for about a year, since he would be slowly growing for the duration and his constantly changing mass would repeatedly upset the balance.

Despite himself, however, he worried for Jack’s safety after Easter, when the newest Pooka’s first rut would begin, like any other Winter Pooka.  He hoped Aster had explained everything correctly, but he avoided intruding on their private time in the burrow, again out of respect for Aster.  Unfortunately, he himself would not be able to watch over them, as he would be dealing with his own rut in his usual fashion – meditating at the South Pole.

He sincerely hoped that nothing would go wrong in the interim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Da Hong Pao](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_Hong_Pao) on Wikipedia, for the curious. It's a high quality, prestigious Wuyi oolong tea from the Wuyi Mountains in Fujian Province, China. According to legend, the mother of a Ming Dynasty emperor was cured of an illness by a certain tea, and that emperor sent great red robes to clothe the four bushes from which that tea originated. Three of these original bushes, growing on a rock on Mount Wuyi and reportedly dating back to the Song Dynasty, still survive today and are highly venerated.  
>  Incidentally, it was some type of Wuyi oolong tea that was thrown overboard at the Boston Tea Party. Y'know, in case anyone ever wondered. *is a crazy history buff*
> 
> [Tetrachromancy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrachromacy), for the curious.


	7. Of Matches & Gunpowder, Straws & Backs

The first day of Easter preparation was a very illuminating experience for Jack.  On the one hand, Jack expected the eggplants to start budding off egglets – or ‘googies’ as Aster called them – and he expected the eggs to take a swim through the Coloring River and through the special maze of decorating plants.

On the other hand, he was unprepared for the amount of work involved after all the base coats were applied.  While Aster explained that he usually only customized, by hand, a small subset each year with more unique designs, given the complete failure of Easter the year before, the elder Pooka felt compelled to outdo himself this year.  Jack really couldn’t blame him and even volunteered to help with the custom paint jobs.

This caused a minor tiff between them, until Jack demonstrated that he very well could paint – perhaps not nearly as masterfully as Aster could, but sufficiently well that Bunnymund had no further objections.

He did complain occasionally that Jack did too many frost- and snowflake-based patterns.  Jack switched out to green paint until Aster complained about all the ferns.  Then he began alternating white and green paint and ignored any more complaints.

So what if his artistic talents tended towards a particular style?

The thing that really threw him for a loop was the chocolate.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

“Aster, what’s in that jar?” Jack asked the first afternoon of the painting season.

“This?  Chocolate,” came the terse reply as Aster settled down with his painting supplies.

Jack rolled his eyes.  “Any particular _kind_ of chocolate?”

Aster mumbled something indistinct as he pulled out a piece.

Jack tried a different tactic.  “Can I try some?”

“No!”

Taken aback, Jack asked, “Why not?”

“You don’t have enough coordination for it right now, mate.”

Jack frowned.  “Huh?”

“Watch,” Aster replied mysteriously as he ate the little confection.

Jack honked in surprise as Bunny grew _four more arms._

He then made a face.  He was still emphatically _not_ used to honking.  Or any of the other rabbit-like sounds he could make now.

“What the hell?”

“Six-arm chocolate, mate.  I don’t usually use it – it’s primarily used for combat – but I want this Easter to be special.  This batch also has a moderate energy booster built in, so I should be able to work for about fifteen hours straight before needing to rest.  I’m going to be very busy this month.”

Jack gaped for a few minutes before he managed to gasp out, “That’s awesome!  Are you _sure_ –”

“No!”

Jack huffed.  “ _Fine_.”

However, he quickly understood why Bunny refused to let him have any shortly thereafter.  He had no idea how Aster managed to coordinate six hands holding three eggs and three brushes painting three _different_ patterns at the same time.  He could barely manage an egg every five minutes or so, while Aster was finishing eggs at a rate of around six to nine per minute, depending on how complex the patterns were.

He supposed Aster was right, but resolved not to acknowledge that fact.

Jack caught himself more than once watching Aster work instead of painting his own eggs.  It was quite mesmerizing, the fluid, rapid flowing motions as the other Pooka painted away, concentration rock steady.  Jack began to wonder what it would be like to have sex with Aster like that…

 _Bad Jack!  Bad!  This is_ not _the time for sex!  But he is so sexy – and those hands –_

_Bad Jack!  Bad!_

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack could tell by the end of the first week that Aster was running himself ragged, and there were still about three weeks to go until Easter.  Bunny would paint for around fifteen hours each day, eating while he worked – sometimes just snacking on random vegetables that the egglets brought him and eventually on actual meals that Jack prepared once he realized Bunny was neglecting to eat in his furor.  After he stopped painting for the day, he’d fall into bed and sleep like the dead until morning and do it all over again.

On Saturday and Sunday, Aster slowed his work pace down to ten hours a day, but this was not for Jack’s benefit, oh no.  Aster needed the extra time to prepare more paints and six-arm chocolate for the next week.

This did not bode well for their sex life, a fact that was quickly proven when Jack asked.

“No time!  I’m sorry, mate, but there’s no time!”

Jack resolved himself to a very sexually frustrated, very _long_ month.  There was only so much he could do with just his paws, now that he knew what it felt like to have Bunny _inside_ him.

Although, he had to admit, he did find his own paws infinitely more fun to masturbate with than his original human hands – the fur was just so –

_Yeah…_

_I_ totally _have a fur fetish now._

He resolved to inform Aster of this at the most inopportune moment possible.

Y’know, for revenge.

Unfortunately, the peaceful, if moderately stressful and sexually frustrating, time passed by more or less uneventfully.  That was, until _that_ day.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

They were sitting at the top of a small hill, under the shade of a large willow tree, painting away.  Aster had a small crowd of egglets surrounding him, waiting their turn to be painted.  Steady streams of them were wandering down the hill, freshly painted.  They were bunching up at the bottom of the hill, since the incoming and outgoing traffic felt the need to use the same route for whatever reason.  Jack was sitting off to Aster’s side, alternately watching the traffic jam below, painting an egg here and there, and getting caught up watching Bunny paint.

Basically, what he’d been doing for the last three weeks.

 _Sigh_.

“Oh fuck a duck!”

Jack started at Bunny’s annoyed exclamation.  “Uh, what?”

Bunny muttered something indistinct before saying, “I forgot several bottles of paint back at the burrow.”

“I’ll go get them!” Jack offered, moving to stand.

“Thanks mate.  They’re on the kitchen table.  Can’t miss ‘em.”

Turning to head down the hill, Jack did not see the egglet that darted in front of him until it was too late.

 _Crunch_.

“Shit!” Jack exclaimed as he slipped on the gooey mess and tumbled down the hill, ass over teakettle.

He smashed several dozen egglets on his way down, but the worst was yet to come, as he crash landed in the center of the traffic jam and demolished several hours’ worth of work in the blink of an eye.

 _Yuck,_ Jack mused belatedly, momentarily stunned from the fall.  _I’ve got bits of egg all over me.  At least it’s hard boiled – shit!  The_ eggs!

Jack scrambled to his feet and gingerly backed away from the messy remains of countless egglets.  He was covered head to toe in shards of colorful eggshell and white and yellow egg chunks.

 _At least I wasn’t wearing my hoodie,_ Jack thought hysterically before he noticed the heavy silence.

Dread filling him, he slowly turned to look back up the hill to see a six-armed Aster glaring at him with murder in his eyes.

_Shit shit shit._

“Look, Aster, I’m sorry!  I slipped –”

“ _Look what_ _you_ _did_!  _Hours_ of work!  _Wasted_!” Aster bellowed, cutting him off.

_I knew he was overstressed, but still –_

“Hey!  I didn’t do it on purpose –”

“Pull your head in and rack off, you bloody show pony!  If you can’t be arsed to help right, I don’t need you around at all!” Aster shouted in rage.

_Oh, that fucker._

“That _does it_!” Jack shouted back as all his worries, all his stress, and all his pains from the last few months surfaced at once, like a dam breaking.  “I can’t take anymore!  I’m tired of this!  You’re working yourself to the bone and barely giving me the time of day!  I’m done waiting for you!  I tried to be understanding!”

Aster deflated and looked stricken at both of their outbursts.

“Now, Jack –”

“ _Don’t you ‘now Jack’ me!_   You have no idea how I feel!  How I’ve felt the past few months!  I was turned into a Pooka _without being asked!_   I had no say in the matter!  Do you know how much it _hurt_ , to have that choice taken from me?  No!  You don’t!”

“Mate –” Aster attempted to interrupt, eyes wide and shining at Jack’s tirade.

“ _Shut.  Up!  Shut up!_   Fuck you!  I’m tired of all this crap!  I’m tired of trying to be something else!  I just want my _life_ back!  I never asked to be a baby factory!  I never wanted any of this!  I’ve _tried_ to be patient!  I’ve _tried_ to understand!  I’ve _tried_ to adapt!”

“Jack –” Aster tried once more, crestfallen.

“No!  Fuck you!  Fuck you!  _Fuck_.  _You_!” Jack screamed, absently wiping tears from his eyes, but only succeeding in smearing egg yolk across his face.

He grabbed his staff from where it had fallen nearby and called for the Wind to take him away.

“Jack!” Aster shouted in panic as he flew away, but to no avail.

Jack was already gone.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack flew.  And flew.  And flew.

He did have the presence of mind to take a flying dip in the Atlantic to wash off the worst of the egg goo, but otherwise just flew, without a destination, his mind a jumbled mess of emotions.

_I shouldn’t have said some of those things –_

_He deserved it for yelling at you!_

Jack eventually found himself flying over Antarctica.  It was night time and the Moon was shining, clear and bright in the cloudless sky.  Jack’s fury reignited when he saw it sitting placidly in the sky and he proceeded to curse out the Man in the Moon in several dozen languages until he’d exhausted his expansive vocabulary quite thoroughly and reverted to simply screaming wordlessly at the Moon while he flew.

He finally landed somewhere near the summit of Mount Guernsey on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.  He staggered over to a nearby ledge and sat down to stare out at the sea, the Moon thankfully out of his field of view.  A chill wind began to pick up as clouds rolled in over the next hour as he sat there, numb to the weather and his mind blissfully blank.

The wind abruptly picked up and then died just as quickly, the temperature dropping sharply to hover around fifty kelvin – almost cold enough for Jack to feel it.

“Go away,” he said dismally into the night.

Instead of listening to him, Old Man Winter manifested behind him in his human form, planting the spiked butt of his staff in the ice and snow at his feet.  He simply stood there, as still and silent as the earth.

Jack’s temper reignited.

He hopped up into the air and flew forward, right into the Old Man’s face and started shouting invectives.  He ranted and raved about the unfairness of it all, the burden he now bore that he’d never asked for, and the terrible, horrible evening he’d had.  Plus some other nonsensical things that he was never able to recall afterward.

Old Man Winter stood there and calmly accepted the tongue lashing, never moving, never speaking, as still as the mountain beneath his feet.  Ugla screeched somewhere in the distance.

Jack finally wound down and floated apathetically to the ground at the Old Man’s feet.  He stared unseeing at his paws where they clutched his staff.  A blizzard picked up around them, howling winds drowning out any noise outside the little clear bubble that they were in.  Jack felt more than saw Old Man Winter become Arcturus.  A furred knee entered his peripheral vision as the Eldest knelt in the snow before him, resting a heavy paw on his shoulder gently.

“How do you feel, frostling?” Arcturus whispered softly.

“Exhausted.”

“Did you really mean all those things you shouted at me?  Or the Moon?  Or your mate?”

“… no.  Not really.  Not all of it.  I’ve just been so lost.”

“I didn’t think so.  I wish I could restore the choice to you.  I do.”

“I know, Grandfather.  It’s just been so _hard_ ….”

Arcturus gathered Jack up and embraced him in a surprisingly warm hug.  Jack was too shocked to respond for several seconds, but eventually returned the hug.

It felt nice.

“Sssh, frostling.  It will get better.”

“I know,” Jack murmured, his voice muffled by Arcturus’ chest, after several minutes of silence and comfort.

“Now.  I believe you said some things to your mate….”

Jack shuddered at the memory.

“He must feel horrible.”

“Perhaps it is time for you to go to him and fix the damage before it festers, yes?”

Jack nodded gently against Arcturus’ chest before collecting himself and standing.

“Would you mind?” Jack gestured vaguely.

“Of course not, frostling.  Ready?”

Jack nodded.

They dissipated into diamond dust as the blizzard died.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack slowly trudged up the hill to where Aster was still sitting, working away furiously.

 _Wait_ , Jack realized as he watched.  _He’s just sitting there staring at the eggs in his hands._

_Crap._

Jack stepped on a leftover shard of eggshell with a soft crunch.  Aster’s ears shot straight up and twitched rapidly back and forth before he shot to his feet and spun around, his eggs forgotten.

“Jack!”

Bunny rushed over and gave Jack an engulfing six-arm hug.

 _Well,_ this _is different.  Kind of nice, too._

It took Jack a moment to register that Aster was babbling in his ears.

“I’m sorry.  I’m sorry.  I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have yelled.  I didn’t think.  We can fix you.  Make you human.  I’ll figure out someth—”

Jack pushed Aster back slightly and placed a gentle finger on his lips, effectively silencing him.  Bunny stared at Jack wide-eyed.  His eyes were a bit red and puffy.

_Well, now don’t I feel like a complete dipshit.  I made the Easter Bunny cry._

“ _I’m_ sorry.  For breaking the eggs.  For yelling.  For not talking my feelings over with you in the first place and avoiding this whole mess.”

“It’s okay!  We can still find a way to—”

Jack bumped his nose against Aster’s.

“Shush.  I’ll have none of that talk.  I’m… better.  Arcturus helped a bit.  I’m okay with it now.  _Really_.  I _want_ to have your kits, Kangaroo.  _I do_.  I just never really allowed myself to think about it or my worries or my residual anger over the transformation thing.  It just all boiled over earlier.  Understand?”

Aster nodded, smiling softly.

Jack dipped his head momentarily to his paw before he stretched up to plant a kiss on Aster’s mouth.  When Jack’s tongue probed for entrance, Bunny reflexively gave it, only to have a partially melted raspberry-chocolate confection pushed inside along with the tongue.  He reflexively swallowed before he registered what it was.

“Jack… did you just…?” he asked, eyes wide and shocked and already slightly glazed.

_Probably the stimulant already in his system._

Jack nodded and popped another aphrodisiac rose candy into his mouth, swallowing before he replied.

“It’s a rule that we have to have make-up sex after a fight.  Absolute.  Cannot be avoided.  _Law of nature_.  Besides, you and your six arms have been driving me crazy the last few weeks.  So… sex?” Jack grinned cheekily.

Aster groaned as he felt the chocolate begin to work.

“You bloody show pony.  I love you, Snowflake,” Aster replied before grabbing Jack around the waist with a devilish grin.

Jack squealed in delight as he was thrown over Bunny’s shoulder and carried to the burrow.  Aster’s free hands were already roaming over his rump and legs sensually.

“Love you too, Kangaroo.”

_This is going to be fun!_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Mount Guernsey](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Guernsey), for the curious.


	8. Easter Eggs & Snowballs

Jack was pleased to note that Aster eased up in the last week before Easter.  Just a tad.  He adjusted his strenuous work schedule down to twelve hour days and spent the extra time with Jack.  Jack was _not_ complaining.

Six arms were _amazing_.

And he was _not_ complaining about the _other_ side effects of Bunny’s increased mass –

 _Ahem.  Bad thoughts!_ Jack chided himself as he hid several more eggs near a park in Burgess.  _No sexy thoughts while near the kids!  They do not need to see that!_

Still, the first time was _really_ epic….

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack collapsed into Aster’s six-armed embrace, thoroughly sated for the moment, panting heavily and purring loudly.  They’d been having sex constantly now for, what, two hours?

_I love this chocolate!_

Aster chuckled.

“Like that, did you, mate?”

“Mmm.  You’re so good to me,” Jack hummed as he nuzzled Aster’s chest fur.

Three hands stroked down his back languidly, while a fourth held his rump lightly.  The other two were behind Aster’s head as he reclined in their nest, temporarily satisfied.  Jack figured they’d start up again soon, however, since the chocolate was still singing in his veins.

He could feel it starting to work already.

 _Mmm.  I_ really _love this chocolate…!_

Aster fidgeted.  He’d been doing that quite a lot between bouts of sex tonight.

_Huh._

“Aster?  Is there something bothering you?  Only, you’ve been fidgeting quite a lot tonight.”

Aster sighed as his hands gripped Jack a bit more tightly.

“I’m still worrying about the fight.  Are you sure…?”

Jack rolled his eyes.

“Yes.  I’m okay with it now.  I just needed to get things off my chest.  Besides, you’re mine now.”

Aster raised an eyebrow inquiringly.  “Oh?”

Jack climbed up and chinned Aster for the first time since becoming a Pooka.  Aster went very still.

“Mine,” Jack declared, before climbing down and self-marking on Aster’s chin.  “And yours.”

Aster hugged Jack fiercely for a moment – which was quite the experience, given the six arms still in existence.

Then Jack felt a poke at his backside.

“Already?” he teased.

They started to move into position –

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack felt his sheath getting tight.

_Damn it!  Bad Jack!  Bad!  Not when the children are –_

“Jamie!” someone called in the park nearby.

_Oh?_

Jack hid a couple more eggs before he drifted over to the park.  A moment’s search found him a good hiding spot with an excellent vantage point.  He quickly spotted his believers running around, carrying baskets and looking for eggs.  Jack grinned happily.

Aster had made him avoid wearing his hoodie while he was helping hide eggs, just in case anyone saw him.  Jack understood completely – no need for the story of the Easter Bunny to develop mention of human clothing.  He was even wearing some of Bunny’s spare ‘clothing’ – wrist guards, a bandolier, and foot wraps.  He was also wearing his staff holster, currently situated such that his staff could be held diagonally across his back, in directional opposition to the bandolier, so that the straps made an ‘x’ across his chest.  Other than that and his staff, he felt he looked like a whiter facsimile of his lover.

Well… close enough for government work.

_Heh._

And, he had to admit, the bracers and foot wraps were kind of nice.  Maybe he’d ask for his own sets.  And the bandolier was handy.

He continued hiding a dozen or so more eggs around the edge of the forest, finishing off his basket.  It had mostly contained a mix of his fern- and snow-themed eggs, with several of Bunny’s fancier designs thrown in for variety.  Jack had wanted his believers to find some of his work this year.

He just wished he felt up to seeing them.  He was afraid of what they would have to say about his new form and was hesitant to test their reactions.  He was about to move to a better hiding place when –

“Bunny! Hop, hop, hop!” came Sophie’s little voice right before he felt her pounce on his back, hugging him tight.

 _Sigh_. _That strategy failed quickly._

Snagging the little girl’s jacket with the crook of his staff, Jack turned his staff around such that he could see her where she hung happily babbling on the end of it.  She paused when she saw his face and stared, transfixed for a moment.  Jack began to worry right before she smiled, ear to ear.

“Jack Bunny!  Hop, hop, hop!”

 _Well.  I guess I’m still recognizable like this.  Good to know,_ Jack mused, cheered by the discovery despite himself.

“Sophie!” Jamie called.

“Sophie! Where are you?” Pippa called a moment later.

“You wandered off without telling them, didn’t you?” Jack queried softly.

Sophie giggled.

_Sigh.  Guess I’m stuck ‘showing off’ my new form after all.  Hope it goes well._

“Over here Jamie!” Jack called.

“Jack?  You found Sophie?  Guys!  Jack found Sophie!”

Several cheers went up.  Jack watched from his hiding spot as the children gathered and came his way.  Jack took a deep, fortifying breath.  He decided to move back a bit to a small clearing several feet away, just to have room to move around.

“Jack?” Jamie called again.  “Where are you?”

“Back here.  There’s a clearing in the thicket.”

“Coming!”

Jamie and the other children wandered into the clearing and stopped dead at the sight of Jack.

“… Jack?” Jamie questioned hesitantly.

Jack was standing in the middle of the clearing, Sophie giggling on the end of his staff and kicking her legs playfully from where she hung about six inches off the ground.

“Yes, Jamie.  It’s me,” Jack replied, trying to keep the worry out of his tone.

“You’re.  A _rabbit_.  Like Bunny,” Jamie stated slowly.

Jack ventured a cocky grin.  “Stating the obvious overmuch?”

Pippa giggled.  The others continued to stare.  The twins were even slack-jawed mirrors of each other.  Well, except for Caleb’s ever-present beanie.  Today it was green.  How appropriate.

_Well, at least someone appreciates my feeble attempt at humor._

“Did something happen?” Monty asked hesitantly, in his usual fashion.

 _We really need to work on his self-confidence,_ Jack noted absently as he steeled himself, nodding in answer.

“Come.  Sit with me.  It’s kind of a long story.  Here –”

Jack gently nudged Sophie off his staff and pushed her lightly towards her brother.  She ran over there happily enough and grabbed Jamie’s hand.  Jamie squeezed reflexively, but was still staring at Jack in shock.

Jack took a deep breath and abruptly slammed the butt of his staff into the ground.  Frost burst from it, covering the ground of the clearing and frosting the trees encircling it.  Several large chunks of rock popped out of the ground, forced up by huge chunks of ice that wouldn’t melt until Jack left.

“Have a seat,” Jack said as he gestured at the newly unearthed rocks.

Despite their surprise, several shouts of “Cool!” greeted his display.  The children scrambled up onto the rocks and waited patiently for Jack to begin his tale.  Jack settled cross-legged in the middle of the clearing and took a deep breath.

“So, it all started back on a Sunday in November…”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

“…and that’s why I wasn’t around this winter,” Jack finished.

The children were completely silent for all of two seconds.

“That.  Story.  Was.  _Awesome_!” Jamie shouted.  All the other kids promptly cheered their agreement.

Jack raised one eyebrow in consternation and frowned slightly.

“I suppose, but it really wasn’t all that fun at the time.”

Jamie grinned sheepishly.  “But you’re okay, so now it’s awesome!”

Pippa piped up just then.  “But why are you a rabbit now?”

“Pooka,” Jack corrected absently as he snagged Sophie with the crook of his staff before she could wander off again.

She giggled at him from where she hung.

_Sigh._

Pippa shrugged.  “Fine.  Pooka.  Why?  How?”

Jack explained about how the Easter Bunny is the last of his kind and about the repopulation plan, in a kid friendly version.  Cupcake – who, being a few years older, had apparently hit puberty in the last year – wasn’t having any of that.

“So you’re saying you have to make babies.  But you’re a guy…?”

The others quieted at the question and stared at Jack expectantly.

 _Crap_.

“Pooka are – special.  We’re both male and female, inside.”

“Oh, like a herm—”

“Ssh!  Little ears!” Jamie exclaimed, red-faced.

“Sorry,” Cupcake apologized, but persisted.  “But the only other Pooka is the Easter Bunny.  So does that mean…?”

Jack’s ears fell against his head in embarrassment and his fur stuck out every which way as he frosted over.  His little nose twitched several times and his dark lavender blush could be seen faintly through the light fur on his muzzle.

“What!  Jack and the Easter Bunny?” Jamie exclaimed.  “They’re –”

Jamie stopped, embarrassed himself.

Jack sighed.  “Boyfriends.  Yes.”

_Easier to describe it that way._

The children gaped at him.  Sophie giggled.

“Bunnies!” she exclaimed randomly.

“So…” Jamie began nonchalantly, red-faced.  “You ‘do it’ like bunnies, I take it.”

Pippa and Cupcake giggled.  The other boys blanched.

Jack gasped.  “Jamie!  That’s not –”

Jamie grinned brightly, still red-faced, and shrugged.

“It’s okay Jack.  We still like you.  It doesn’t matter who you do – I mean, what you do!” Jamie hastily corrected himself, thoroughly mortified.

Awkward.

 _Freudian slip, anyone?_ Jack mused, sighing mentally.  _I should do something to distract them…Aha!_

Jack set Sophie back down and hopped away from the kids, forming a snowball in his hand as he moved.

“Jack, what –” Jamie began, before a snowball smacked him in the face and he fell off his rock.

“Snowball fight!” Jack shouted as he slammed the butt of his staff to the ground again, causing several inches of snow to cover the ground throughout the clearing.  It began snowing lightly.

All the children immediately ducked behind their rocks and began flinging snowballs at each other.  Even Sophie got in it and pick up a big pile and ran to dump it over her brother’s head before he could get up off the ground.  After several minutes of laughing and throwing snowballs, with Jack taking potshots at everyone, the kids turned as one –

“Get him!” Jamie shouted.

– and began throwing all their snowballs at Jack.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Aster arrived just in time to see Jack start a snowball fight with his believers.  He leaned up against a tree, one foot propped flat against the cool wood, arms crossed, as he watched in amusement.  He chose a spot just outside the obvious lines of sight to avoid detection for now.  He didn’t want to interrupt Jack’s fun.

_He needs the time with the little ankle-biters.  We really shouldn’t keep him hidden away as much anymore.  He can finally move around alright and he really needs to stretch his legs._

As Bunny watched he amended that thought to ‘move around pretty well.’

 _The sprite’s really been paying attention,_ he thought proudly.

“Jack looks to be having fun, doesn’t he Aster?” came Eirlys’ voice from behind and to his right.

Aster didn’t flinch.  He _knew_ he didn’t.

_How in the…?  Where did she come from?_

She chuckled darkly.

Okay.

He apparently flinched.

 _Oh bugger_.

Aster glanced over his shoulder and barely suppressed a honk of surprise.

He was expecting a woman.

What he found was a wolf.

A really, _really_ big wolf.

Her fur was the same color pattern as her hair, starting out black along her back and fading quickly down to a light auburn at her paws.  Her shoulders came up to his waist – and, considering he was seven feet tall, that was _big_ – and looked to weigh at least five hundred pounds.  Probably more.  But the grace with which she sauntered over to him belied her obvious mass.

The eyes were still the bright amber he recognized.

“Eirlys?” he questioned, just to be sure.

The wolf nodded, tongue lolling out in a wolfish laugh.

“Crikey.  You’re a _dire wolf!_   I haven’t seen one of those in – well bugger me, since the last glaciation!”

The wolf-woman nodded, smiling wolfishly all the while.

Shaking himself out of his shock –

 _Honestly, what_ else _would she be?_

– Aster returned his attention to watching Jack play with the children.  After a moment, he felt the wolf bump lightly against his side.  He absently let a paw fall down to scratch behind her ears.  He heard one of her paws thump on the ground behind him as she leaned into it.

Aster chuckled.

She growled, only half-playfully.

Aster took his paw away, eyeing her sideways, curious what her reaction would be.

She whined faintly.

Aster chuckled and returned his paw to scratching.

She didn’t complain that time.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack laughed as he twisted, jumped, hopped, and dodged everyone.  He bounced off rocks and trees, the ground and the Wind as he dashed around the clearing, avoiding every single snowball.  The children were laughing and shouting all the same, even though they couldn’t catch him.  He carefully herded them into a pack before putting his plan into action.

Bouncing off several trees in succession, he all but flew, building up speed before he dashed across the clearing, skidding in a curve around the children and spraying them with a wave of snow.

“Gotcha!” Jack taunted, readying to dodge the children’s next volley – and then took a snowball in the face and fell over, caught off-guard.  “Ack!”

Aster chuckled as he swaggered into the clearing, dusting snow off of his paws.

“It’s the Easter Bunny!” several of the children exclaimed in tandem, rushing forward to greet Aster.

They clamored around Bunny while Jack recovered from the sneak attack.

_Oh, that little –_

Jack flung a hastily formed snowball at Aster, but it seems he was expecting the attack and a boomerang neatly sliced through the projectile.

“Whoa!” the kids exclaimed excitedly.

Jack sighed in defeat, but favored Aster with a grin to demonstrate no hard feelings.  Aster grinned proudly back.  Jack sauntered over to stand before his lover.  He squeaked when Aster pulled him into a one-armed hug, flush against his side.

“Awww,” the girls cooed.

The boys all blanched and made faces.

Jamie perked up, asking, “Where’s Sophie?”

“Doggie!  Arf, arf, arf!” came Sophie’s excited shout from just beyond the clearing.

“She’s fine, mate.”

“Doggie?” Jack queried.

“She means me, frostling,” Eirlys muttered as she trotted into view, Sophie giggling on her back.

Jack had never seen such a long-suffering look on a wolf –

_Wait, what?_

“Um, Jack… is my sister riding a wolf?” Jamie asked apprehensively.

“It’s just the Snow Queen, mate.”

Jamie twitched.  “Sophie!  Come here.”

“But doggie!”

“Now,” Jamie said warningly.

“I don’ wanna!”

“Sophie –”

“Giddyup!” Sophie shrieked, before giggling again.

Eirlys sighed and trotted forward such that Jamie could grab his sister off her back.  Jamie had to stretch a bit to do so.  Sophie dodged by sliding off the other side.

“Sophie!  Get back here!”

The little girl giggled and crawled under the she-wolf.  Eirlys rolled her eyes and shifted to the side, snagging Sophie by the collar of her jacket and handing her to Jamie.

“Um… thanks.  I think,” Jamie said warily.

Eirlys trotted away a few steps and her form shimmered, dissipating and reforming into the more familiar human form that Jack recognized.  She was still in her warmer color palette though.

“Better?” she inquired politely.

Jamie and several of the other children nodded, relieved.  Eirlys shook her head in fond exasperation.

Sophie pouted.  “No doggie?”

“Maybe later, sweetheart,” Eirlys soothed.

“Yay!” Sophie exclaimed, giggling.

Jack finally found his voice.  “You – you – huh?”

“Really, frostling, you live with a shapeshifter.  Toothiana is dating Raven, another shapeshifter.  You yourself are one, although you don’t know how yet.  Are you all that surprised?”

“… no.  I guess not.  You just caught me off-guard, is all.”

She nodded wisely, her amber eyes filled with mirth.

“What brings you here?” Jack queried.

“Oh!  Yes.  Of course.  It’s… well, urgent, but not, at the same time.  You two are needed back at the Pole.”

Jack frowned.  “Uh, right.  Why?  And why send you?”

She smiled kindly.  “The others are busy in Ombric’s library.  Pitch broke in and stole several tomes.  We are not sure on what, just yet.  He made a complete mess of the tower.”

Jack felt a spike of alarm, but understood now how it was only somewhat urgent.  No imminent danger, at least.

“Ombric?” he questioned.

“Father Time, mate.  North’s mentor,” Aster explained with a worried frown.  “Is Ombric around?”

“No.  More’s the pity.  He’s off somewhen in… Ancient Egypt, last I remember.  North is trying to get a message to him.”

_Okay, maybe a little more alarm is necessary._

“Shit.”

“Jack! Little ears!” Jamie chided, covering Sophie’s ears.

She giggled.

Jack’s ears drooped.  “Sorry.  Do we need to go help?”

“It would be much appreciated, yes.”

“Sorry kids!  Gotta go save the world again!”

“We’re just searching a library, Frostbite.”

“… one library at a time?” Jack added after a moment, grinning cheekily.

Aster sighed, long-suffering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Dire Wolves](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dire_wolf), for the curious. Eirlys' form is a particularly large version of this.


	9. Twitterpated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay. Life happened. Story did not. So, here, have a big smutty chapter. ^_^

They spent the next day and a half sorting through the library, but, by the early afternoon of the second day, Jack and Aster were both too fatigued to continue.  Aster was always worn out after Easter and had really been pushing his limits to stay active so long.  Jack was nearly as tired, although he wasn’t quite sure why – sure, he’d helped with Easter, but he’d not done nearly as much work as Aster.  Regardless, everyone else understood and shooed them off to rest, promising to send Raven with any news.

Jack and Bunny returned to the Warren to find it serenely continuing on without them.  Several stray egglets were wandering around aimlessly, occasionally taking dips in the Coloring River and seeming to congregate to consider each other’s paint jobs, while the Stone Sentinels patrolled endlessly, ever vigilant against intruders.  The two Pooka collapsed in their nest and didn’t wake until the following morning.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack woke from his long rest with a groan.  He had a headache to start the day.  And he still felt tired, although this was more of the physical than mental kind.

_Wonderful._

Throwing himself out of bed, he was struck by a bout of dizziness and had to catch himself against the wall until it passed.

_Joy.  Maybe some tea…._

He sniffed and then grinned despite himself.

_I love that kangaroo._

Jack shuffled down the hall to the kitchen, where a, still warm, cup of Da Hong Pao was waiting.  Glancing outside, he realized it was close to noon.

_Huh.  Aster must be outside somewhere._

The tea soothed his headache, but did little for the fatigue still plaguing him.  He decided to crawl back into bed and try to sleep it off.

_Maybe I caught something while I was out…?_

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack was woken later that afternoon by Aster gently shaking his shoulder.

“Jack?  Are you alright, mate?”

Jack grumbled something unpleasant and swatted the offending hand away.  Aster chuckled and kissed the top of his head.

“Alright, grumpy pony.  I’ll leave you to rest until dinner.”

Jack muttered something unintelligible, but obviously rude, and went back to sleep.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack was awakened yet again by a hand shaking his shoulder forcefully.

“Fuck, what do you _want_ , Kangaroo?” Jack asked roughly.

Aster huffed at the sprite’s tone.  “It’s dinner time, you drongo.  No need to be rude.”

“ _Pardon me_ for being grumpy,” Jack replied sarcastically, but did climb out of bed and follow Bunny down the hall.  “Why the hell am I still so fucking _tired_?”

Aster wisely kept silent.

 _Probably for the best_ , Jack thought, annoyed that Aster didn’t respond, while also annoyed at himself for being annoyed in the first place.

They sat down to dinner and Jack began to eat.

 _Twitch_.

“This doesn’t taste right,” he grumbled.

“I made it the same way I usually do.”

“It’s different,” Jack muttered mutinously, but ate another bite because, _damn it_ , he was hungry.

It didn’t matter if the food tasted like it had been left out in the sun too long.

He said as much.

 _Big mistake,_ Jack mused.

“What?!”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack and Aster curled up to go to bed that evening.  Jack was happy to do so.  Dinner had been just awful.  First the horrid food, then the argument when he told Aster as much.

And now he had a headache.

 _Again_.

So he settled in to sleep.

Jack was still awake when Aster woke up the next morning.  His headache was still hanging around and he hadn’t slept a wink, so now he was tired all over again.

Aster frowned.  “You alright, mate?”

Jack grumbled something obscene.

Aster rolled his eyes and wandered out of the room, not even dignifying Jack with a response.  Jack’s headache lessened enough for him to sleep after about another hour of lying there defiantly willing himself to do so.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack woke up early that afternoon.  He paused and waited for his body to mutiny again.

No headache.

No fatigue.

He didn’t even feel grumpy.

 _Yay!_ he cheered mentally.

So he got up and wandered out to see his lover and apologize for his behavior.  They ran into each other as Aster left the loo, toweling his head fur dry.  Jack got immediately angry.

“Watch where you’re going, Cottontail!”

Aster blinked, only one eye visible through the towel.  “Watch out yourself, you blind drongo.”

Jack swore viciously in several languages and shoved past Aster on his way to the kitchen to find something to eat.  He felt better afterward and decided he’d been really rude again, so he decided to go apologize for real this time.  He managed it successfully, much to his delight.

Aster smiled softly.

“I know that you’ve just been feeling under the weather the last couple days, mate.  You know what could help?” he added with a lascivious glint in his eye.

Jack’s eye twitched.

“Nah.  I’m good.”

Aster’s jaw fell open and simply hung there in shock.  He eventually managed to splutter out a shocked, “What?”

“I said I’m good.  I don’t feel like sex right now,” Jack replied easily with a shrug.

_What’s his problem?_

Aster huffed in annoyance and marched off to do – something – in the Warren.

Jack rolled his eyes.

 _Whatever_.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack woke the next morning and froze, taking stock of his condition.

No headache.  Check.

No fatigue.  Check.

No irrational irritability?  Che—

 _What is that_ delicious _smell?_ Jack thought abruptly, sitting straight up with his nose twitching rapidly.

He got up quickly and wandered around the burrow, occasionally stumbling over his feet and the furniture in his haste to locate the source.  After searching the entire place, he caught a strong whiff of the scent on the breeze that blew in through the open window.

 _Ooooo_.

He dashed outside to find the source.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Aster was off in a remote corner of the Warren, sitting in a grassy field and reclining against a moss-covered rock.  He had his sketchbook and pencils with him and was idly drawing the landscape in front of him.

 _Honesty, what is wrong with Frostbite these days?  It’s like he’s a totally different person!_ Aster huffed mentally, before resolutely putting those thoughts aside before they ruined his calm.

It wasn’t until he realized he’d sketched a miniature Jack, his head popping out from behind a rock in the picture, that he noticed Jack was around.

And circling him slowly, in ever shrinking circuits.

_What in the…?_

He set his art supplies aside and stood.  When he turned around, he found Jack standing right in front of him, leaning forward slightly with a lazy grin on his face and his paws clasped behind his back.

Aster honked in surprise.

 _How did he…?_ Aster thought in surprise before his nose and eyes caught up with him.

Aster took a deep sniff.

His eye twitched.

His ears swiveled forward in interest.

 _Oh_ , Aster thought distractedly.  _That explains a lot._

“Snowflake…?” he queried tentatively.

Jack grinned serenely, despite the lust-glazed eyes and the quite prominent pale pink erection between his thighs.  It was already leaking copious amounts of lubrication fluids and twitching in time with Jack’s pulse.  His heart must be beating really fast –

Aster shuddered in arousal and shook his head to clear it, trying to suppress his reactions for the moment.

“Snowflake?” he said again.  “Jack?”

Jack nodded slightly and shuffled slightly closer.  Aster got a stronger whiff of Jack’s scent and groaned.

“You’re in rut,” Aster murmured faintly as Jack pounced.

 _I’m so fucked_.

Aster quickly found himself lying on his back with Jack running his paws up and down his torso, pausing to tweak a nipple here and nip at his navel there, while rubbing his rigid erection all over Aster’s sheath – an action that was rapidly eliciting a reaction, especially in combination with Jack’s pheromones that he was now dumping on Aster by the bucket load, figuratively speaking.

After a moment, he could make out Jack murmuring repeatedly something akin to “want you, need you” almost like a mantra or a chant.  Aster snagged Jack’s headfur and pulled him into a hungry kiss, only partially to shut the sprite up.

 _Fuck it,_ he reasoned.

Giving in to his hormones never felt so _good_.

Jack quickly deepened the kiss, although his paws never ceased roaming over his chest, alternately carding through his fur and tweaking his nipples.  Nor did Jack cease frotting against him.  Aster hissed into the kiss as his cock pushed out of his sheath and came in contact with Jack’s slick, and surprisingly hot, shaft.  They remained locked like that for several minutes before Jack threw his head back and moaned loudly as he came.  Aster quickly followed, the pulsing heat against his own shaft too much to bear, especially as he was splatter with Jack’s oddly, yet erotically, cool release.

Not that that was the end of it.  Not by a long shot.  Jack hadn’t even softened _slightly_.

Jack relaxed for all of two seconds before he pulled away and began nudging under Aster’s sack, his chilly nose causing Bunny to shiver when it came into contact with his perineum.  Jack took a deep sniff and groaned out his desire in a cool puff of air against Aster’s nether region, eliciting another shiver of arousal in the elder Pooka.

Jack then shifted his head down slightly, while nudging Aster’s thighs with his paws.  Bunnymund quickly got the hint and grabbed his thighs and pulled them out of Jack’s way.  Jack purred in delight and began rimming Bunny expertly –

 _Oh my god, is_ that _what that feel like?_ Aster mused distractedly as he moaned at the sensation of his tailhole being penetrated by Jack’s warm-yet-chilly tongue.  _No_ wonder _he likes it so much…_

Jack didn’t spend much time on his chosen task.  With one last, long lick from Aster’s tailhole, over his balls, and up to the tip of his penis – which elicited yet another long groan from Bunny – Jack swiftly positioned himself at Aster’s entrance and pressed the tip of his penis inside.

_At least he’s already lubricated –_

Aster gasped as Jack slid inside in one smooth motion.  The sensations were very –

_How can he be both cold and hot at the same time?_

Not waiting for permission to continue, Jack began thrusting at an irregular pace, although he found a rhythm eventually.  By then, Aster was already getting close to coming _again_.  Jack realized this – probably by scent alone – and quickly pawed Bunny off to completion, which triggered his own second release as he thrust deep inside Aster’s throbbing channel.  They both moaned deeply in response.

Aster was panting hard after that and was about to ask Jack a question when he realized –

_Jack was still rock hard and starting to thrust again!_

He moaned once more, surprised to feel himself stirring again already –

_Usually only the aphrodisiac does this to me!_

– and gripped the grass hard, pulling several tufts free before he managed to get ahold of something solid.

Jack began pounding away with abandon, his movement eliciting moans and groans from the both of them, especially whenever he hit Aster’s prostate just right.  Aster was completely hard once more by the time Jack reached his third completion several minutes later.

And Jack started thrusting again almost as soon as he stopped coming.

This time, however, the thrusts were just a bit more languid and Aster could see that the haze in Jack’s eyes had cleared somewhat, enough that Jack was able to give him a sheepish grin.  Aster grinned in response, although it was cut short by a moan when Jack found his prostate again.

And then Jack surprised him once more.

Jack bent at the waist and took Aster in his mouth without interrupting his thrusting.  Aster simply goggled in shock.

 _Oh my god, he really_ can _do it!_

And that was the last thing Aster remembered before he became lost in the dual sensations of being penetrated and sucked off _at the same time_.  It was almost ten minutes later before they reached completion once again, Aster first losing himself in Jack’s mouth before the clenching of his muscles wrung another release from Jack.

Jack collapsed onto Aster’s chest, his penis finally, _finally_ softening – although only halfway.  Jack stayed buried inside his lover as he lazily shifted his head so he could meet Aster’s dazed gaze.

“Um…” Jack said lamely.  “Hi?”

Aster panted out something akin to a laugh.

“That’s one way to make a bloke’s first time memorable, mate.”

Jack’s eyes widened in shock.

“Wait, what?”

Aster nodded.  “Never been on the receiving end before.  It’s… different.  In a _good_ way.  Perhaps we’ll need to take turns more often,” he added with a wink.

Jack grinned happily.

“You made my first time memorable too, you know.”

It was Aster’s turn to be shocked.

“But – you said – I thought –”

Jack chuckled.  “I never said we had _anal_ sex when I was messing around with the other village boys.  It was considered ‘ungodly’ for a man to penetrate another man.  We were skirting the rules as it was by sharing our hands and mouths.  We figured that that didn’t violate _Leviticus 18:22_ if we didn’t actually ‘lie’ together.”

Aster snorted.  “I’ll never understand how your species gets along with such an attitude.”

“That’s because Pooka don’t have set gender roles,” Jack replied cheekily.

Aster swatted Jack on his head, which only set the teen to laughing.  Jack’s laughter was cut off abruptly a moment later by a deep groan that coincided with the smaller Pooka hardening fully inside Aster once more.

_Yup.  Rut alright._

“How – how long am – am I going to be like – like this?” Jack stuttered out.

Aster’s grin was wicked.

“Three months.  Give or take.”

Jack groaned, half in lust and half in dismay.

But _mostly_ lust.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

The next several weeks passed in a similar manner to the first day of Jack’s rut.  Aster would wake before Jack and prepare food that could be eaten cold – for those rare times they got to eat.  Sometime later, Jack would rise from his exhausted sleep and pounce on Aster wherever he’d wandered off to and they would make love irregularly throughout the day, for a couple hours at a time.  Jack’s libido calmed down a bit by the end of the first month, but that only meant that they had a very, very long bout of morning sex before being allowed several hours in the middle of the day before Jack’s rut led to more delicious sex until bed.

Aster was emphatically _not_ complaining.

He just made sure to eat a hearty lunch every day.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Pitch looked up from the tome he had been reading and grinned wickedly into the middle distance, his gaze unfocused.  His sharp teeth glinted in the gloom of his lair.

 _Perfect_.

He carefully set the stolen tome aside – Ombric had such a _lovely_ collection of magical texts –stepped into a heavy shadow nearby and disappeared.  He shivered.

He would never get used to the slimy chill that passed through him when he traveled through the shadows of this world.  It was almost as if it tried to reject his foul presence every time he did so.

He wouldn’t be surprised.  Most living creatures reflexively feared and reviled him.

It was so _delicious._

He stepped out of a shadow and into the gloom of a dilapidated temple complex and meandered out onto the Avenue of the Dead.  Raking his gaze across the complex, he sighted the Pyramid of the Moon and drifted in that direction languidly, summoning several nightmares in the processes to act as an entourage.  He could just make out movement at the top of the stepped pyramid.

 _Perfect_.

He slipped through the long shadow cast by the Pyramid of the Sun and reappeared in the plaza at the foot of the Pyramid of the Moon.  He sighted the figure marching down the steps of the pyramid and heading in his direction.

_How convenient._

He faded into the shadows of a nearby column to wait.  His patience was soon rewarded as Tezcatlipoca stepped into the pale light of the crescent moon that hung low in the sky.  The Aztec god was an imposing figure, standing proudly and unafraid in the night’s wane light.

“¿Quién se atreve a perturbar, Tezcatlipoca, Ipalnemoani, Necoc Yáotl, Tloque Nahuaque, Ilhuicahua Tlalticpaque?”

“Soy yo, Paso Negro,” Pitch replied mockingly, his voice echoing throughout the plaza.

The giant jaguar-man growled darkly, his ceremonial jewelry tinkling faintly as he shifted minutely into a defensive stance.  The god’s prosthetic obsidian crus and foot shimmered in the faint light.

“Show yourself, El Cucuy.”

Pitch laughed delightedly as he faded into view across the plaza from the old god.

“Tezcatlipoca.  It has been a long time since we last met –”

Tezcatlipoca growled.  “Not long enough, El Cucuy.”

Pitch sniffed disdainfully.  Several dozen nightmares materialized atop and between the columns surrounding the plaza.

Tezcatlipoca growled louder.  “You wouldn’t dare –”

Pitch’s yellow eyes gleamed savagely in the night, his teeth glinting menacingly as he formed his nightmare sand-scythe.

“Oh, I very much _would_.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

May came and went.  So did Aster and Jack.  Many, many times.

As May rolled into June, Aster discovered something – having a mate in rut caused your own rut to start _early_.  This discovery changed their routine a bit – Aster started topping nearly as often as Jack did.

Neither Pooka minded _at all_.

It was several days after Aster’s rut began that events took an – _interesting_ turn.

Aster was pounding away at Jack with abandon.  Jack was propped on the edge of the kitchen table and leaning back on his paws while Aster was pumping his erection in time with his thrusts.  Their breakfast salads, long forgotten in their lusty haze, were spread across the kitchen floor.

There came a knock at the front door.

Aster grunted distractedly, “Come in.”

Jack giggled drunkenly.  “You’ve already done that.”

Aster squeezed Jack’s cock harder for a moment in retaliation, but only succeeded in eliciting a particularly drawn-out moan.

The door opened and closed quietly.  The click-clack of talons resounded throughout the burrow as Raven stepped into view and froze at the sight that lay before him.

“Hey guys, I – oh.  _Oh…._ ”

Jack grinned cheekily.  “Hi Raven!  As you can – ah! – see, we’re a bit – _ooooh_ – busy at the moment.  _Yes!_ ”

Aster thrust harder, as if Jack being coherent was an affront to his hard work.  Jack moaned appreciatively.

Raven stared, blinking slowly.

“Something on – mmm – your mind, Raven?  _Oh yes, just like that!_ ” Jack panted.

Raven shuddered and paused a moment to compose himself.

“We’ve sorted through the library –”

Jack moaned loudly as he came for the fourth time that morning.  Aster followed with a groan moments afterward.  Before Raven could continue, Jack’s erection perked right back up and Aster began thrusting once more.

“By the – you’re _both_ in rut!” Raven exclaimed in shock.

Jack grinned drunkenly.  “What was – ah! – your first clue?  _Ooooh_ …”

Before Raven could reply, Jack’s gaze sharpened and locked with Raven’s.

“Oh!  Are you – mmm – _interested_?”

Raven gaped in shock.

“Your – ah! – cock certainly is,” Jack giggled, as his gaze dropped to the obvious tent in Raven’s cargo shorts.

Aster stopped thrusting abruptly.  Jack whined momentarily as he turned his gaze to Aster’s.  They communicated silently for a long moment.

Both Pooka then turned matching leers on the avian god.

Raven rolled his eyes and laughed as he stripped out of his pants and tossed them carelessly into the sitting room, his own erection bobbing proudly before him.

“Just let me get my chocolate.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

They retired to the nest to continue their activities, plus one.

Raven quickly found himself sandwiched between the two horny Pooka, Aster behind and Jack in front.  Jack was busy exploring the avian’s body with paws and tongue while Aster turned Raven’s head around to capture it in an awkward kiss – really more of a messy tangling of tongues, given Raven’s beak.  One of Aster’s paws was languidly teasing Raven’s cock.

After several minutes of this, Aster gently pushed Raven onto all fours and began rimming him.  Jack settled beneath and took Raven in his mouth.  Raven let out a long, low crowing sound in appreciation.  After a moment, he leaned down and gently took Jack’s erection into his beak.  Jack moaned around his cock, which elicited an echoing one from Raven.  Time passed languidly for a couple more minutes as Aster switched from rimming to stretching Raven with first one, then two, fingers.

Finally, Bunny decided Raven was prepared properly and shifted so as to place the tip of his cock at Raven’s entrance.  Carefully arranging his arms as he leaned forward over Raven’s back – Raven, in a moment of clarity, helpfully adjusted the size of his tail plumage to get it out of the Pooka’s way – so that he wouldn’t hurt either Raven or Jack, Aster grunted once and thrust forward, spearing Raven in one long stroke to the hilt, their balls smacking together and eliciting twin groans.

Jack pulled away enough to cackle, “Balls touching!  _So_ gay!”

Aster grunted in reply while Raven cackled himself, eliciting, in turn, an answering whimper from Jack, who quickly decided he’d had enough of his chosen task.  Jack carefully pulled free from Raven’s beak and twisted around, flipping over in the process, and spread his legs just so.  He then gently thrust upward with his rump and guided Raven’s throbbing cock into his already prepared tailhole.  They both groaned as one when Raven fully seated himself inside Jack.  A little more shuffling and everyone was ready.

Aster set the pace with his first couple thrusts and soon Raven was rocking back and forth between the two Pooka, the three spirits a chorus of moans, groans, and whimpers, the latter primarily from Jack as he was repeatedly rammed into with the force of two bodies.  It helped immensely that Raven’s cock was nearly the same size as Aster’s, so he reached all the right places.

Aster and Raven continued to thrust in rhythm with each other, along with Jack answering Raven thrust for thrust, for quite a while before anyone neared orgasm.  Raven, doing double duty in the middle, was the first to attain release.  Aster quickly followed, with Jack rutting several more times against the bedding before finding his own completion.  They collapsed into a snuggly pile, all three panting for breath.

Jack was the first to regain his voice.

“That.  Was.  Awesome!”

Aster grinned weakly, still recovering as he was.  Raven crowed softly in agreement.

“Are we done already?” Jack whined after several minutes.

Aster and Raven blinked at Jack as the young Pooka turned around in their grasp and prodded Raven in the stomach with his already renewed erection.

“Aster, can we switch?  I want to try it from that end!”

Aster nodded.  “Sure.  I’ll switch positions with you.”

Raven blinked.  “What?  You _never_ bottom!”

Jack grinned cheekily.  “I have shown him the error of his ways!”

Aster swatted at Jack, but missed as the smaller Pooka dodged underneath Raven and around to Aster’s backside to rub enticingly around his tailbase.  Aster groaned softly as his cock perked back up fully.  Raven’s echoed a moment later.

“Round two!  Sex!” Jack exclaimed drunkenly.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Half a day later, thoroughly spent, the trio had first taken a bath – which led to several hand jobs – and then retired to the sitting room to relax and catch up properly.  Aster had just finished preparing a hearty dinner and served everyone.

“So…” Jack started lamely.  “Was there a reason for your visit, Raven?”

Raven nodded cheerfully.  “Yes.  We’ve sorted through the library and have identified which tomes Pitch stole.  We have no idea what they have in common, but the good news is North has finally made contact with Ombric and the old wizard should be showing up in a week or two.  Maybe a month.  Two at most.”

Jack frowned.  “But isn’t he time traveling?  Can’t he just come by, like, _now_?”

Raven shrugged.  “He’s explained it to me several times before, but it made little sense.  And I quote: ‘People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big bowl of wibbly wobbly timey wimey... stuff.’”

“I see,” Jack said, trying not to laugh.

“It means he can’t control exactly when he arrives, Frostbite.”

Jack broke out in laughter.  Aster blinked.

“Why didn’t he just say so?  And why is Ombric quoting Doctor Who?”

Raven snorted.  Aster looked even more confused.  Jack rolled his eyes, but was still grinning widely.

“Is that where that’s from?” Raven asked.  “It always sounded like he was quoting someone else when he said it….”

Jack nodded before turning his attention to Bunny.

“I have _got_ to get you a television set and get you caught up on popular culture!”

Aster grunted sourly.

Raven and Jack both laughed.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Raven stopped by off and on for the next couple weeks, to ‘help out’ with the overlapping rut seasons until Jack’s rut was over.  He then left them to their own devices to deal with Aster’s continuing rut, as he had other duties to attend to while they all waited for Ombric’s impending arrival.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Arcturus came out of his meditative trance with a deep sigh and stood, carefully stretching the kinks out of his body from sitting in one place for three months straight.  Satisfied, he dissipated with but a thought into diamond dust.

_I should check on the frostling and ensure nothing untoward has occurred in my absence._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Leviticus 18:22](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviticus_18#Sexuality), the source of much frustration for many people, then and now.  
> [Tezcatlipoca](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tezcatlipoca) and [Teotihuacan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teotihuacan), for the curious.
> 
> The "crus" is the part of the leg between the knee and the ankle.
> 
> "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big bowl of wibbly wobbly timey wimey... stuff." -- Tenth Doctor, Doctor Who, Series 3, Episode 10 ("Blink", 9 June 2007)
> 
> Spanish/Nahuatl:
> 
> ¿Quién se atreve a perturbar, Tezcatlipoca, Ipalnemoani, Necoc Yáotl, Tloque Nahuaque, Ilhuicahua Tlalticpaque?  
> Who dares disturb (me/I), Tezcatlipoca, He By Whom We Live, (the) Enemy of Both Sides, Lord of the Near and the Nigh, Possessor of the Sky and Earth?
> 
> Ipalnemoani: "He by whom we live"  
> Necoc Yaotl: "Enemy of Both Sides"  
> Tloque Nahuaque: "Lord of the Near and the Nigh"  
> Ilhuicahua Tlalticpaque: "Possessor of the Sky and Earth"
> 
> Soy yo, Paso Negro.  
> It is (me/I), Pitch Black.
> 
> El Cucuy  
> Boogeyman


	10. The Accident

Arcturus manifested in the Warren, in his natural Pooka form, with little fanfare, as he didn’t want to startle anyone.  The late morning air turned a bit crisp around him, regardless.  A deep sniff informed him that Aster was out in the fields to the south of the burrow while Jack was resting inside.  The burrow reeked of sex.

_Of course. The spring rut season would have begun already; they are still preoccupied._

He quietly padded inside, stowing his staff in its holster across his back so as to avoid waking the frostling with its tapping against the stonework, since he could hear from the front of the burrow the even breathing of a deep sleep.  He paused as he entered the nest, his gaze snapping immediately to the prone form sleeping peacefully before him.

Something was… off.

He took a deep sniff and his eyes narrowed dangerously, a soft growl in his throat.

_We shall soon be in need of a new Easter Bunny._

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Aster was humming softly to himself as he meandered through his gardens, looking for something good to draw while he waited for Jack to wake up and find him.  The sprite had been a bit fatigued the last few days since his rut had ended, so he had started taking short naps after their bouts of morning sex to refresh.  Aster didn’t mind, as it gave him a couple hours of personal time.

_Oh!  Look at that!  The play of shadows from the willow over that corner of the garden is perfect –_

Aster yelped in pain as a large hand – paw? – grabbed both of his ears and tugged hard backwards, causing him to drop his art supplies as he fell.  Before he could protest, he felt the strange sensation of being pulled apart, flung through the air in pieces, and reassembled.

He was thrown into a chair in his sitting room roughly and grunted at the impact, although it took him a moment to register that fact since the sensitive nerves in his ears and scalp were protesting their treatment quite vociferously.

“What the bloody –” Aster started to complain before he registered that Old Man Winter was towering over him.

Menacingly.  And with murder in his eyes.

“Do you know what you have _done_?” Arcturus half-hissed, half-growled, a dangerous note in his voice.

“Oh shit.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack woke to the sound of shouting.  He blearily peered up at the ceiling, watching the veins of olivine glitter faintly in the light as he gathered his sleep-muddled thoughts.  His stomach gurgled faintly.

_Huh.  Nausea.  Better lay here for a few._

After a couple minutes, he was coherent enough to register that he still didn’t understand the shouting, but not for lack of trying – he didn’t know the language.

_That’s strange.  I can usually at least recognize it, even when I don’t know it._

He lay in bed for a while after that realization, trying to identify the voices while resolutely ignoring the faint tingling in the back of this throat.  He eventually worked out that the deeper voice was Arcturus and it sounded like he was giving Aster a thorough verbal beating.

_What did the kangaroo do now?  I’d better go find out._

Jack sat up and was hit by strong wave of nausea.

 _Oh shit_.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Aster sat grumpily, arms folded defensively across his chest, thoroughly nonplussed with the Old Man’s behavior.  He listened half-heartedly to the Eldest Pooka’s ranting and ravings in Ancient Pookan, of which he only understood bits and pieces.  Mostly the insults.

And there were a _lot_ of insults.

He caught a couple other bits here and there, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of any of it.  Arcturus finally paused to take a deep breath – probably in preparation to start ranting again – Aster opened his mouth to interrupt –

And into the silence came the sound of rapidly pounding footpaws dashing down the hall from the nest to the loo.  This was quickly followed by the sound of Jack retching into the sink.

Aster’s brain helpfully supplied the common thread to everything Arcturus had been screaming for the last half-hour.  His eyes flew open wide and he gaped, dumbfounded, at the Eldest.

_Oh.  My.  God.  Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god –_

Before either could say anything, Jack padded wearily out to the kitchen.  They watched silently as the young Pooka ran himself a glass of water and cleaned out his mouth.  Without a word, Arcturus moved to Jack’s side and helped him into a chair, before he crouched down to Jack’s eye level.

“How are you feeling frostling?” he inquired softly.

“Better, now, after the vomiting.  Maybe my dinner didn’t sit well with me.”

Arcturus shook his head and corrected bluntly, “You’re pregnant.”

Jack blinked.  Then he laughed.

“You’re kidding, right?  I’m male!  I can’t get pregnant!  I don’t have the parts!”

Arcturus spun a death glare on Aster.  Aster gulped.

“Jack.  Snowflake.  I did tell you that we are hermaphrodites internally, right?”

_Please say you remember.  Please say you remember.  Please –_

“Yeah, I remember –”

_Oh thank God._

“– but what does that have to do with anything?  I don’t remember suddenly growing a vagina, so how could I _possibly_ be pregnant?”

The Old Man’s eye twitched dangerously as he glared daggers at Aster.

 _Oh bloody buggering hell_.

“Um, Jack… you see… you don’t have to when you’re in rut,” Aster said hesitantly.

“… what?” Jack squeaked.

Arcturus growled at Aster, before returning his gaze to Jack.  Aster was decidedly jealous to note that the Old Man’s gaze immediately softened.

“Frostling.  Jack.  Gender is of no consequence to breeding.  If you do not provide the feminine equipment, your body will simply reroute the tubing when the rut overcomes you.  You have to consciously prevent ovulation, a fact that _should_ have been explained to you _months ago_.”

Jack blinked several times.

“I’m… pregnant?” he said neutrally.

That tone worried Aster greatly.

Arcturus bent over and sniffed deeply near Jack’s stomach.  “I would venture at least two weeks along.”

“I’m… pregnant,” Jack said again, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Arcturus nodded gently.  Jack’s hands immediately shot to his stomach and began hesitantly rubbing around.  Arcturus caught them and set them gently a bit lower than he’d been rubbing.

“Here,” the Eldest whispered.

Aster was too shocked to say anything during their interaction.

_Pregnant.  Pregnant?_

Suddenly, it was as if the sun had come out from behind the clouds.

Jack was smiling.

“I’m pregnant,” he said decisively, turning his shining gaze on Aster.  “You’re going to be a father.”

Aster could have fainted, he was so relieved.

Arcturus cleared his throat.  Jack turned his attention back to the Old Man.

Aster growled softly.  Arcturus made a rude gesture at him in response, which sufficiently shocked him that he couldn’t respond for several seconds.

“Frostling.  This will not be easy.  Your body is not ready.  If you choose to take them to term, it will be a very difficult, _very_ _dangerous_ pregnancy.  Are you _sure_ you want to continue this?”

Jack frowned for a moment, before nodding.  “Yes.  I – I think I do.  It’s just so – _weird_.  I mean, it was one thing being _told_ I could do this, but to have it _happen_ –”

The Old Man nodded in understanding.  “If things had been explained more _clearly_ –”

Aster growled, “Oi!”

He got another rude gesture for his efforts.

 _I never_ –

_Well, okay.  Maybe I would – but still –_

“– this would not have happened until at least your rut next spring, when your body would be fully grown.  To help you understand, you are like a human female barely beyond the first stages of puberty – the body is able, but not yet ready.  I repeat, are you _sure_ this is what you want?  The risk to you is especially high – you could, in fact, _die_.”

Aster felt a sharp stab of worry and guilt worm through his gut.

Jack frowned again at the Eldest, before glancing over at Aster, an unreadable expression on his face as he searched Aster’s face for – something.  Jack smiled faintly when he found it, whatever it was.

Without turning his gaze from Aster’s, he said softly, “Yes.  I’m sure.”

Arcturus sighed, but nodded.  “I must call Seraphina.  She will be your, shall we say, ‘doctor’ for the entirety of your pregnancy.  I will go now.  There is much to be done – and I think you will need to speak with your mate before I return.”

Jack nodded and bid the Eldest goodbye.  He disappeared in a flurry of snowflakes that spun several times around Aster, chilling him to the bone, before shooting out the nearest window.

 _Bastard_ , Aster thought as he shivered.

Jack giggled.

“You really pissed him off you know.”

Aster sighed, but accepted Jack’s warm embrace when the sprite came over to join him.

“I love you,” he whispered.  “I’m sorry.”

He could feel Jack’s smile against his chest.  “I love you too, Kangaroo.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack was a bit less happy with the whole ‘pregnancy’ thing the next day when he was vomiting every other hour.  At one point, he marched up to Aster, who quailed internally at the intense fury written all over his lover’s face.

“You!  You did this to me!  I’m pregnant because of _you_!” he shouted.

Aster nodded faintly to indicate he was listening.

“I will be _bitchy_.  I will be _hormonal_.  I will be _messy_.  I will be… _female_ for the next _nine_ months –”

“Six, actually,” Aster corrected reflexively.

Jack paused and absorbed that.

“For the next _six_ months!  And it is _your fault!_   You _will_ take care of me!  You will _dote_ on me!  You will answer my every whim!  Do.  You.  _Understand?_ ”

Aster gulped and nodded faintly.  Jack abruptly smiled and kissed him on the nose.

“There.  Was that so hard?” he said sweetly.

Aster’s eye twitched.

 _This is going to be a_ long _six months._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Personal Note: For any women that might want to critique my treatment of pregnancy, keep two things in mind: (1) I'm male and this is my interpretation based on what I've read, seen, and been told, and (2) Jack is male at heart and does not fully know what to expect -- nor is he used to massive estrogen surges. This will be a bumpy ride. XD


	11. Visitations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the slow update. I've been a bit busy the last few days with various random things. As well, I wanted to get this chapter right, so I've been reviewing my biology textbook and several other sources to make sure I was explaining things correctly.
> 
> I would like to point out that, in deference to those whom may like my story but not really want to go over the pregnancy in depth, or to whom MPreg is a bit 'squicky,' I will be putting the entire rest of the pregnancy following this chapter (through to birth) into just the next chapter, before moving on with the rest of the plot.  
> As I am unsure how long this might get -- the muse has not seen fit to inform me yet -- it could be a few days before the chapter is posted.

The day after Jack’s massive, repeated vomiting assault on the bathroom sink was the day Mother Nature dropped by for his first medical checkup.  And by ‘dropped by’ Jack meant that she faded into existence and startled him half to death, causing Jack to shout in surprise as she materialized in front of him.  Bunny came running into the sitting room from the nest in a panic.

“Jack!  What – oh.”

Mother Nature stood there, serenely smiling at the pair of Pookas.

“Good afternoon, frostling, Bunnymund,” she said softly, eyes glinting mischievously, “We have come to check on your progress.  Is now a good time?”

Jack sighed, his heartbeat returning to normal as he nodded, setting the geology textbook he’d been reading for the last several months aside.  Aster moved to sit on a nearby chair to watch as Seraphina shifted to kneel in front of Jack.

“Do you need something to sit on?” Jack queried, knowing full well how hard the floor was.

_Not that that’s stopped us having sex there._

Seraphina shook her head negatively, saying as she did so, “It will be easier for us to examine you from here.  Now, we are given to understand that you are experiencing a great deal of ‘morning sickness,’ as it is inaccurately called.  Any other symptoms of note?”

Jack nodded.  “I’ve also been quite fatigued the last several days in the morning.  After we, um, we –”

She smiled faintly as Jack blushed frostily.  “After your morning sex, yes?”

Jack’s ears fell in embarrassment even as he nodded, which only caused one of them to fall forward annoyingly.  There were just some subjects you did _not_ talk about with a woman with whom you were not intimate – at least, that’s what his Colonial sensibilities told him.

Jack batted the offending ear out of his face as he replied, “Yes.  Well, um.  Afterward, I tend to take long naps.  And sometimes just short bouts of nausea that don’t lead to vomiting.  Also, the occasional cramp, I think – it’s only happened three or four times.  Oh, and the mood swings.  God, I feel like such a girl!”

She nodded thoughtfully, smiling at Jack’s last complaint.

“Well, we can do something for your nausea and vomiting, at least.  Here,” she said as she materialized a couple pieces of parchment and handed them to Jack, “this is a list of things you should _not_ eat or even have in the house while pregnant.  Simply the smell of them can make you nauseated, let alone eating them.  The second page is a list of scents which will help as well, which your mate should be able to provide readily enough.”

Jack glanced over the lists before handing them to Aster, who examined them more thoroughly.  Aster nodded after a moment.

“Yes, I can make some aromatic herbal candles and spread them around the burrow.  Most of these foods I’ve already been keeping away from him, but I was apparently missing a few.  Sorry Frostbite.”

Jack smiled and waved dismissively at Aster’s concern.  “Thank you for trying anyway.  I don’t expect that this will get rid of it completely?”

Seraphina shook her head.  “Sadly, no, it will not, but it should alleviate most of it.  Certainly nothing like yesterday, frostling.  As for the cramps, we recommend a gentle massage if they persist for more than a few minutes.  Unfortunately, we can do nothing for the mood swings, as those are related to hormonal changes in your body.  We would advise, however, that if you wanted to get pregnant in the future while minimizing the hormonal surges, that you should adjust your anatomy to at least fully hermaphroditic, but preferably entirely female, a couple months before your rut begins.  This would give your body time to adjust to the feminine hormones that are causing your issues.”

Jack frowned severely at her suggestion, before exclaiming angrily, “I.  Am.  A.  _Man!_   I was born with a _penis_ and I will always _have_ a penis!  No vaginas!”

Seraphina smiled at him indulgently while Aster sat off to the side trying valiantly not to laugh.  Jack frowned and thought about what he’d said before he blushed furiously again and his ears drooped in embarrassment once more.

_I said – I said – in front of Mother Nature!  Oh my god!_

Aster broke down laughing at Jack’s horrified expression, unable to contain himself any longer.  Jack’s glare did little to diminish his mirth.

Shaking her head slightly in mild exasperation, Seraphina said, “It was just a suggestion, frostling.  Now, we are going to place our hands on your stomach to – we suppose you would call it ‘scan’ the little ones.”

Jack stopped his glaring as he turned to look at her fully.

“Okay.  Should I remove my hoodie?”

Seraphina nodded.  Jack complied and tossed it aside as she moved her hands gently over his fur, poking and prodding his abdomen several times before she gently placed them both against his stomach, palms down, one to each side of his navel.  Her eyes unfocused as she concentrated.  Jack felt a slight warming sensation beneath her hands while she did this.  After several moments, she sighed softly and removed her hands and the gentle warmth that seemed to accompany them.

“The kits are quite healthy, so far.  What more would you like to know?”

“Well.  For starters, how many are there?  Bunny, would you mind if I asked what gender they were?  That is, if you can tell that so soon…?”

Seraphina nodded.  “We can read their genetic code with only a small effort.  We know many minor things about them already.”

Aster nodded his assent, his gaze an attractive mix of curious and eager excitement.  Jack grinned at him fondly.

“Well then, frostling.  There are four kits growing within you.  A moment…”

Seraphina paused to place a hand against his stomach again.  It warmed immediately and she held it there for a bit longer than last time.  A slight frown flit across her face, but was gone so quickly that Jack wasn’t sure he’d seen it.

“Two male, two female,” she said as she pulled her hand away, a thoughtful expression on her face.

_Can’t be anything bad if she’s looking thoughtful._

She continued, “Interestingly, you are carrying one of each seasonal subspecies, frostling.  The females are of Spring and Summer, while the males are of Autumn and Winter.  Three are genetically random, but the Spring female is genetically yours and your mate’s.”

Jack watched as Aster practically vibrated in barely contained delight.

“What stage of growth are they at?  I know in human development, they would have already passed through the blastocyst stage and fully gastrulated by day ten.  Normally, at, what am I at now, sixteen, seventeen days?”

She nodded. "Seventeen."

“The proto-embryos would be in the early stages of forming the basic vertebrate plan.  Are Pooka at all similar to this?”

She nodded again, saying, “Yes, actually.  It seems that the Ancients made an early habit of, shall we say, ‘pushing’ at least one planet per system to develop similarly to them.  Earth, as the first major life-bearing planet discovered, was one of these early cases.  As you should know, Pooka develop in only six months, a third shorter timeframe than humans.  As a result, you already have four full embryos within you – they finished shifting into the basic vertebrate plan on about day fourteen.  Gastrulation began sometime during day four and the blastocysts formed and attached rapidly in the first couple days.”

Jack spared a glance at Aster during this talk and abruptly laughed out loud at his completely confused expression.

“Not keeping up with the biology lesson, Bunny?” he teased.

Aster gave him a dirty look even as he shook his head.

“Okay then.  Let me see,” Jack mused out loud as he thought.  “If I remember correctly….”

Seraphina nodded for Jack to go ahead when he trailed off.

“On day twenty-two, in humans, the cardiac tissue develops enough to – wait, does that mean they _already_ have heartbeats?” he asked excitedly.

She nodded.  “Here, let us –”

Seraphina placed one hand on Jack’s stomach and held out the other.  The first quickly warmed again while the latter glowed faintly as a small image sprang into existence above her outstretched palm.  It was a tiny little embryo.

“This is the Spring female.  Let us just –” she shifted her hand slightly on Jack’s stomach and then fell silent.

The room was filled with the faint sound of a tiny little heartbeat.  Jack and Aster both stared at the small image in awe.  She dismissed it after a minute and removed her hand from Jack’s stomach again.

“Thank you.  That was _amazing_.  Is there anything else you can tell us yet?”

“For more details, we would need a much deeper scan of their genetic code, which might get uncomfortable for you.  If you do not mind, we would prefer to wait until the second trimester – say, August – before trying that.  It would be much easier on you and them.”

Jack nodded his agreement.

“How am I doing then?  I know Bunny’s been very worried about that.”

Seraphina smiled gently.  “You are in, more or less, perfect health.  Your body is still adjusting to the changes, but is holding up remarkably well against the strain of pregnancy.  It is too early to tell if there will be complications, unfortunately.  We expect you to continue to experience intermittent temperature swings – if these get too severe, especially in the direction of warming, we recommend that you immediately go to Antarctica and contact Arcturus.  The environment there can help counter the rising temperature.”

Jack nodded seriously.  “If I can’t do it myself, I’m sure Bunny can carry me there.”

Aster nodded emphatically in turn, saying, “You bet your arse I will.”

“If your body temperature drops more than a few degrees, we additionally recommend that you, well, ‘cuddle’ with your mate.  His body temperature will help stabilize yours and keep your dropping temperature from potentially damaging the kits.  It is an unlikely situation unless your temperature drops by more than twenty degrees, in which case we should be contacted immediately.  However, we suspect you are already aware that warmer swings in your body temperature are much more common, yes?”

“Yes, that’s true.  I’ve only noticed a couple cold swings.  I usually swing warmer for a bit and then drop back down to something a bit warmer than I was when I was just a spirit.”

She nodded.  “Good.  Good.  Your body is already adjusting to a median temperature.  Winter Pooka were always a bit cold in the first place, but your natural body temperature was a fair bit lower as a winter spirit.  The equilibrium point has yet to be reached, however.”

“Grandfather mentioned as much.  Is there anything else we need to go over today?  I’m feeling rather tired all of a sudden.”

Mother Nature smiled gently.

“Scanning tends to do that to those not used to it.  No, there is nothing else.  Before we go, we have become aware that your fellow Guardians are planning a party this evening for you two.  We believe Raven will be arriving shortly to inform you of this –”

She paused as someone knocked at the door.

“Well.  He arrived earlier than we anticipated.  We will bid you goodbye, frostling, Bunnymund.  We will return for your next checkup in two weeks.”

With that, she faded away as Aster called for Raven to enter.

“Raven, it’s open!”

“How did you know it was me?” Raven asked as he entered.

“A little birdie told us!” Jack said lightly.

Mother Nature’s tinkling laugh could be heard faintly echoing through the burrow.

Raven grinned sardonically.  “I see we’ve been ratted out.  You will come to the party, won’t you?  North and Toothiana have been working terribly hard on it since they found out two days ago.”

Jack made a face.  “Did Arcturus tell _everyone_?”

Raven nodded.  “Yes, he did.  And he already warned all of us to be very careful with you.  Apparently, you’re very _fragile_.”

Jack pouted.  “Am not.”

Aster and Raven simply shared a knowing look.

“Hey!”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack and Aster went to the little party that evening.  Jack was overwhelmed a bit by the effusive congratulations he received from the others, but was eventually able to curl up in a big, comfy arm chair while Aster strutted around, proudly declaring what a wonderful mate Jack was and chattering on at length about what they’d learned from Mother Nature.  Baby Tooth kept him company while the others celebrated in their own ways.

Toothiana and Frige spent an hour together with him and Baby Tooth, enthusing about his pregnancy and the kits and inquiring after his health.  Both offered to help with anything he might need or to answer any questions he might have, since he wasn’t a female.  He politely deflected their offer in embarrassment, but it was otherwise an enjoyable interaction.

He was hit by a mild temperature swing late in the evening, but it passed quickly enough.  Still, he wandered outside, just to be safe.  Aster came looking for him shortly afterward.

“Jack?  Are you okay?”

“Yes, Bunny.  I was just feeling a bit warm, so I came out here to cool down.  It’s already passing.”

Aster engulfed Jack in a hug.  Jack sighed happily against Aster’s chest as he returned it.

“I was getting worried about you, mate.”

“I’m fine, really.  How are you feeling about all this?”

Aster grinned at Jack excitedly.  “I’m quite beside myself.  I keep alternating between feeling extremely giddy and extremely worried.  It’s exhausting.”

Jack rubbed Aster’s tailbase gently, earning himself a shiver.

“What say we go home soon and ‘celebrate’ in our own way?”

Aster groaned faintly.  “It’s late enough already.  What’s say you and I make our excuses and head home now?”

Jack’s answer came in the form of a hard rub on Aster’s tailbase, eliciting a barely contained moan.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes,’ mate.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Tezcatlipoca’s obsidian prosthetic sat on a pedestal in a dark, distant corner of Pitch’s lair.  Pitch was pacing a slow circle around it as he considered it from every angle.  After several minutes of pacing, he stepped over to the nearby table where Ombric’s stolen tomes lay and flipped through a few pages before returning to the artificial limb.

“Yes, yes.  I see,” he murmured thoughtfully, before pressing his hands gently, but firmly, against each side of the calf.

He then murmured several words in Nahuatl and moved his hands outward from the obsidian leg.  It obediently reformed into a large obsidian mirror that glinted faintly in the gloom.  He cackled darkly at his success.

“Now, let us test it out.  What shall we have a peek at?” he mused thoughtfully as he gently pet the edge of the mirror.  “Ah, yes.  Shall we have a little peek at Santa’s Workshop?  Let’s see if this mirror can penetrate his new wards.”

Pitch tapped the center of the mirror with his left index finger, as the text instructed, and murmured several more words in Nahuatl.  The surface of the mirror shimmered as concentric rings rippled across its surface, not unlike a still pool of water that had been disturbed by a drop of rain.  As the ripples subsided, an image of the exterior of the Workshop formed before him.  Pushing at the image mentally, he willed it to go inside.

It did.

He cackled again in success, but was cut short when he found the Guardians busily partying.

“Now what do you lot have to celebrate, hmm?  Wait – what the _hell_ is going on?”

Pitch stared in shock as he watched a smaller, white Pooka approach the Easter Bunny and hand him a bowl of salad.

_I killed them all!  Where did he find another of his kind?_ Pitch thought angrily as a dark growl escaped his throat.

“Here you go Aster,” the other Pooka said cheerfully.

_Wait – I recognize that voice – but it_ can’t _be –_

“You didn’t have to get it for me, Jack.  You shouldn’t be straining yourself.”

The white Pooka – _Jack Frost?_ – punched the Easter Bunny lightly in the arm.  “I’m pregnant, not an _invalid_ , Aster.  The kits will be fine.”

Pitch’s eye twitched spasmodically as he growled darkly.  He waved his hand vaguely at the obsidian mirror, dismissing the vision.

“How dare they?  How _dare_ they?” he shouted.  “I _knew_ I should have focused on killing him last year.  I cannot abide that they have found a way to restore the Pooka!  There must be _something_ I can do to _punish_ them for their _impudence_ –”

Pitch cut off abruptly as he spun to face the table of stolen books, eyes gleaming menacingly.  He grinned toothily and began cackling madly as he reread the spine of one of the ancient tomes _._

“Yes.  _Yes,_ that should do _nicely._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some [biology notes](http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/N100/2k4ch39repronotes.html), which I found online, that spell out the early stages of development in embryos succintly. Did you know that most animals go through the same basic stages of development?  
> Biology was a really fun class to go through last year, so I thought I'd share a bit (I've been slowly working towards a degree in Biochemistry, in case anyone's curious). ^_^


	12. Pregnancy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the belated update again. There was death in my family last month and I was quite distracted by it, to the point of writer's block. Now that that has been... resolved, my muse has kindly returned to me and I've been able to write again, although it has been slow going as the muse revs up.
> 
> I would normally post the follow note at the end of the chapter, but since it is over 6500 words, and it is pertinent immediately, I'll post it here:  
> A "Mallen Streak" is one term for a streak of white or grey hair, as can be found here [Poliosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poliosis).

Aster had never been so happy for it to be a Friday in his _life_.

The last two weeks had been _hell_.

While the aromatic herbal candles had helped with Jack’s morning sickness and nausea immensely, several of the scents also triggered mood swings.  Jack had never seemed bi-polar before, but now –

Aster shuddered at the thought.

It had taken them several days to figure out which scents didn’t trigger the horrific mood swings that would otherwise have given cause for an insane asylum to break out the white jackets and the padded rooms.

Those days were _never_ to be mentioned again.

Afterwards, Jack’s mood swings took a turn for the better, although the lingering scents of the first batch still triggered abrupt swings on occasion – happy to sad to manic to weeping to angry rage monster – that had lasted for the remainder of the past two weeks.

The other Guardians had been rather scarce too, come to think of it – even that damnable ‘Easter Elf,’ Zygmunt, hadn’t shown up.

_Traitors_.

Now it was time for Mother Nature’s second medical visit.  Company had never sounded so good.

She even used a door this time.

Although it wasn’t the front door.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack half-jumped out of his chair in surprise when there was a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it!” he called into the kitchen, where Aster was preparing lunch.

Jack went and opened the front door –

And no one was there.

“Huh?” he muttered as he closed the door.

There was another knock at the door – the _closet_ door, right next to him.  Jack blinked, before shrugging and opening the door.

A goose immediately waddled out, honking at him in passing as it wandered into the kitchen.  Jack simply stared.  Aster’s voice came from the kitchen.

“Kailash!  It’s been a long time, mate!”

The goose honked cheerfully in reply.

_The hell…?_

Jack turned back to the closet and about jumped out of his fur.

Mother Nature and an auburn-haired woman he didn’t recognize were standing there patiently waiting to be properly invited inside.  The unknown woman’s auburn hair had a white Mallen streak off-center on the right side.

_Interesting._

Remembering his manners, Jack offered, with a cheeky grin, “Would you ladies like to come out of the closet?”

Mother Nature smiled indulgently and floated out to the sitting room.  The other woman laughed lightly as she stepped out of the closet and then turned to address Jack, her grey eyes glinting with mischief.

“Hello,” she greeted cheerily.

Jack closed the door and then bowed slightly as he replied, “Greetings.  Who might you be, fair lady?  If you don’t mind my saying, that outfit is quite – colorful.  And bright.”

She smiled and nodded, as she said, “My name is Katherine.  Do you like it?  Toothiana designed it.”

Katherine was wearing a variation on an Indian sari.  She wore loose, dark red pants, with little golden yellow slippers on her otherwise bare feet.  Above that she wore a vest with a high collar, which was a brighter shade of red, with intricate golden embroidery throughout, although concentrated on the edges and the collar.  Seemingly attached to the bottom hem of the vest was a sheer fabric in a bright yellow that formed a faux dress, which hung down just below her knees.  Over the vest she wore a flowing overcoat, of sorts, made from the same sheer yellow material, that was wrapped in such a way as to leave her collarbone and shoulders exposed, if not for the vest, along with half-sleeves running loosely down her arms, and a wide tail of fabric hanging down the back.

Jack nodded politely and motioned for Katherine to join Seraphina in the sitting room.

“Why have you come with her today?” he inquired as they entered the room.

Before she could respond, Aster bounced into the room and enfolded Katherine in a warm hug, with an exclamation of “Katherine!”

Jack raised an eyebrow, an amused expression on his face.  “I take it you two know each other?”

Aster grinned at Jack when he pulled away, one paw still resting companionably on Katherine’s shoulder.

“That we do, Frostbite.  She is North’s and Ombric’s adoptive sister and daughter.  Respectively.  I’m not surprised you haven’t met her yet; as the Guardian of Storytelling, she is, in some ways, even busier than Sandy.”

Jack titled his head inquiringly.  “You’re a Guardian too?”

She nodded.  “Yes.  You may have heard of me; I am also known as ‘Mother Goose.’”

Jack blinked and gasped lightly.  “Really?  That’s just awesome!  My sister was always fond of your stories!”

It was Katherine’s turn to be confused.  “Sister?”

“Back when I was human.  Our mother used to read her all kinds of stories in the evening.  I did too, actually.  It helped me learn to read.  The memories Tooth has shown me revealed that; I just wish I could remember their names.”

Katherine’s eyes glowed faintly and grew distant and unfocused for a moment.  She then spoke softly, as if in a trance.

“Jackson Overland, son of Jankin Overland and Klara Overland née Sternberg, elder brother of Mary Bennett née Overland.  Born 21 December, 1694, 10:15 PM local time; one week late.  Died 22 March 1712, 8:40 AM local time; drowning.  Reborn 23 March 1712, 12:33 AM local time; resurrection by moonlight.  Renamed Jack Frost at rebirth.”

Her eyes closed and her head suddenly twitched.  She reopened her eyes and gazed at Jack sheepishly, who was gaping in shock.  Aster was even eyeing her a bit oddly.

“Sorry.  My abilities allow me to relive the past and foresee the future, which is why I spend a lot of my time working with Father and Toothiana.  Sometimes people ask me things, or make vague statements, as you did, and they trigger automatically.”

Jack came down from his shock after a moment and meandered distractedly into the sitting room and took a seat.  Mother Nature ensured he was settled comfortably.

“We see that, perhaps, our Katherine has blindsided you, yes?”

Jack nodded vaguely, his eyes taking a moment to focus on Seraphina’s face.

“Perhaps we should resolve this first then.  You likely have many questions for her.”

Jack shuddered abruptly and his head snapped to stare at Katherine in awe.

“You – you – I don’t know what to say!  Um, I… wait.  Did you say Mary _Bennett_?  Two n’s and two t’s?”

Katherine nodded.  “Does that last name mean something to you?”

Jack nodded, smiling faintly at his thoughts.  “It’s probably just coincidence, but my First Believer is named Jamie Bennett.”

Katherine’s eyes glowed and went unfocused again as she muttered to herself, her hands making slight motions, as if turning the pages of a large book floating in front of her.  Her head titled to the side inquisitively and she smiled.

“James Bennett, son of Jackson Bennett and Morgan Bennett née Smith.  Elder brother to Sophie Bennett.  Twelfth generational descendant of Mary Bennett née Overland and George Bennett,” her eyes snapped back into focus and locked with Jack’s.  “You’re his many-generations-removed uncle.  Isn’t that splendid?”

Jack and Aster simply stared at her for a few moments, before Bunny started chuckling.  Jack followed a moment later.  Jack turned to look at the other Pooka.

“It just figures, doesn’t it?  I’m already apparently related to just about everyone _else_ of any importance in my life, so why not Jamie too?” Jack said lightly, grinning broadly.  “I can’t wait to tell him.”

Aster nodded as he continued to chuckle.

“I’m sure he’ll be thrilled, mate.”

Jack turned back to Katherine.  “You.  Me.  We’re going to have to sit down later and have a nice long chat about my family.  For now, though, why are you here?”

Katherine smiled cheerfully.  “I came to meet you, of course, but also to offer my services as a babysitter, when the time came.  I’m told I’m a great sitter.”

“As the Guardian of _Storytelling_ , I’d expect so,” Jack replied cheekily.  “I’m sure that will be fine and I thank you for the offer.  I would like to get to know you better first, though.  No offense.”

“None taken.  I understand completely.  I’ll be coming along for the rest of the medical visits anyway and you can easily contact me through North if you want me to drop by some other time.”

“Awesome.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

After that, the rest of the visit was what was to become routine.  Seraphina would examine Jack with the same warm-hand scanning technique, declare everything well so far, and then dissipate.  Jack, Aster, and Katherine would interact for a couple hours, until Katherine needed to return to her duties and left.  The goose changing size caught Jack off guard the first time, but it explained how she got around on her own.  This pattern repeated every other Friday.

Aster’s rut continued apace through mid-July, but then abruptly tapered off completely before the month was out.  When asked about it, Arcturus explained that Jack’s pheromones were informing Aster’s body that his mate was already pregnant and, thusly, there was no more need for him to be in rut.  While they continued to have regular bouts of sex, the urgency and several hours long morning sessions were in the past, for now.  Much to his consternation, Jack was still fatigued in the morning for a few more weeks thereafter.

Jack’s first trimester passed mostly uneventfully otherwise.  There were still periodic bouts of morning sickness, but that tapered off as he approached August.  The mood swings leveled out a bit, primarily thanks to the candles Aster continued to manufacture, as needed.  Unfortunately, those symptoms were replaced with others: cramps and dizziness.

_Not cool._

Then there was the River Incident.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Aster was lazing about the burrow, idly reading a book Jack had recommended, entitled _Storm Front_.  The author’s idea of how magic worked was pretty weird, but that Dresden character was quite entertaining.  It was actually a rather good story, much to Aster’s surprise; Jack had good taste.  Regardless of his interest, he periodically dozed off, as it was a fairly warm day and he was sitting in a patch of sunlight filtering in from a window as he waited for Jack to get back from his walk.

Jack had taken up walking around the Warren when he started getting cramps a couple weeks before, wandering around slowly until his muscles relaxed.  The walks had been getting steadily longer, as Jack was taking the opportunity to explore the Warren while he was out.  Aster allowed him to go out alone so long as he returned within two hours or so.  Even though Jack was perfectly safe while in the Warren, Aster was still very protective of his pregnant mate and didn’t want him out of his sight for too long.

Aster started awake again when the book dropped from his paws and thumped loudly on the floor.  Looking around, something seemed off.

_The sun’s too low in the sky._

“Jack?” he called.

No answer.

Pushing down his reflexive panic, he focused inward instead and felt outward, kenning for Jack’s location.  He first detected a few late season googies, the one which he usually practiced on over the summer having started budding.  He made a mental note to make use of them soon, before pushing out further.

He next detected several patrolling Sentinels.

_Still no Jack_.

Expanding his ken further, he finally found Jack.  The kits were four little pulses inside him, not quite large enough for Jack to start showing yet.  But soon.

The larrikin had wandered quite far from the burrow.  He was out near the Coloring River which was, of necessity, a fair distance from their home; when the Warren was in the buildup to Easter, the work area could get quite noisy, especially when Aster wasn’t present to ensure maximum efficiency of the semi-automated painting process.

_What is that galah doing out th—_

Jack disappeared from his senses, but not before Aster caught a flash of alarm.

Aster was out of the burrow and halfway to the Coloring River before he’d even realized he’d left his chair.

He shortly arrived at the spot he’d last sensed Jack and began frantically looking around.  Jack wasn’t anywhere in sight, but before he could focus enough to ken for him, he heard a splash and spluttering on the far side, a bit downriver.  Looking over, he sighed in relief before the sight afore him fully registered.

Jack had fallen into the Coloring River.

His white fur was now a riot of colors.  Some of those colors clashed.  Really, _really_ badly.

Aster hopped across the river and move to stand near Jack, who was resting against the embankment, his footpaws about two feet from the river itself, panting.

“You okay there, Frostbite?”

Jack turned his head from where it was laying facing away from Aster to smile at him weakly.

“Yeah.  More or less.  I had a dizzy spell hit me as I was watching a couple of your egglets playing in the river and fell in.”

Aster squatted down next to Jack and examined him more closely.  His face was very – bright.   Sky blue, bright pink, sickly yellow, warm teal, pale violet, and pastel green warred for dominance, but only succeeded in looking like a child had thrown a bunch of cans of paint at Jack’s face all at once.  One of his ears was a deep crimson, the other a bright copper.  He had ‘freckles’ in an extremely dark purple splattered across his muzzle.

Jack’s body was just as crazy, but before Aster could examine that in depth, Jack’s face scrunched up and he sneezed, spraying a few droplets of paint across the grass.  Aster started laughing uncontrollably.

“Hey!”

“I – I can’t stop,” Aster wheezed and he laughed.

Jack huffed, before a sly grin came over his face.  Aster didn’t like that look one bit.

“ _Jack_  –” Aster began warningly.

Before he could say anything further, Jack tapped the crook of his staff against the grass and created a patch of slick ice under Aster’s feet that ran down the sloped embankment to the river.  Aster reflexively tried to back away from the cold, and, before he could catch himself, slid down the ice and into the river.

Jack began rolling around as he laughed and laughed, clutching at his stomach.

Aster growled as he crawled back out of the river, now covered in his own riot of colors.  A dark smirk flit across his face before he grabbed a handful of paint from the river and flung it at Jack.  Jack’s laughter cut off abruptly as the amorphous glob of paint smacked him in full in the face.

Aster chuckled as Jack spluttered.  After a moment, Jack sighed and favored his mate with a grin as he fell back onto the grass and splayed his limbs out.  Paint was slowly dripping off the sides of his muzzle.  Aster knelt down and offered Jack a paw.

“C’mon, mate.  Let’s get back home and bathe before this paint sets in.”

Jack smirked as he took Aster’s paw and pulled him down for a kiss, after which he asked, “Sex?”

Aster laughed as he hauled Jack up.

“Sure, mate.  Sure.  _After_ we’re clean.”

Jack sighed dramatically, before giving Aster a hard shove and dashing off, his paws leaving colorful prints in his wake.  He threw a wide grin back over his shoulder.

“Race you!” he called irreverently as he ran ahead.

“Oi!”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

August faded into September, and September rolled into October as autumn settled in; Jack’s stomach grew steadily as the months passed, the kits as healthy as they could be.  He still felt well enough to begin spreading some early frost where it was needed.  Bunny kept him company while he was out doing his work, both because he was being overprotective and because he felt a burning need to just _be_ with Jack.  While Jack complained intermittently about the behavior, he was secretly pleased by all the attention.

Jack suffered several more temperature swings over the course of his second trimester, but nothing too serious had so far occurred.  Seraphina and Arcturus were both surprised, though pleased, by how well he was handling the pregnancy.  Jack was equal parts happy and annoyed; though he was overjoyed at the prospect of having kits – despite that very _idea_ still being extremely strange – he had _just_ gotten over his clumsiness and awkwardness with his new body when he’d gotten pregnant, and his coordination was steadily worsening as it progressed.

Mood swings came and went, as did more temperature swings, bouts of dizziness, occasional cramps, and the morning sickness, much to his irritation, never quite went away until it was nearly October – he still vomited at least once every three or four days at the most random of times and occasionally more frequently, usually right after the kits kicked upwards.  The kits also had a tendency to _Riverdance_ on his bladder, especially when it was full.

And wasn’t _that_ just the strangest thing – a _guy_ complaining about babies kicking him in the stomach and dancing jigs on his bladder.

He took consolation in the fact that they would probably be _amazing_ Irish stepdancers.

There was another party on Halloween, mainly so that the others could have a chance to spend time with Jack; Aster was keeping the sprite in the Warren as much as possible, with the notable exceptions of Jack’s outings to spread snow and cheer.  Tooth and Frige, in particular, were bursting with the need to touch Jack’s stomach and feel the kits kicking and squirming.  He humored them for about an hour, before the resigned look on his face caused Aster to chase them off.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

The Saturday following North’s Halloween party, Aster was lazily painting several of his off-season googies as he sat in the field in front of the burrow, testing a few new techniques and several new brushes.  He set aside the one he was currently using with a huff after several minutes.

_Too stiff_ , he noted mentally.  _Need to soften the bristles.  Let’s try this one—_

There was a loud crash inside the burrow.  Aster was on his feet and running inside before the googie had had a chance to even grow legs – it had been left spinning in his wake.  He found Jack trying to climb out of a pile of chairs next to the kitchen table, all of which had been overturned, food spilled everywhere.

“Jack!  Are you okay?” he asked worriedly, his volume quite a bit higher than was strictly necessary.

Jack winced in response to it.

“Loud.  I – I don’t feel so well.  Ow,” he murmured as Aster snagged him around the waist and pulled his warm body flush against his chest.

Wait.

_Warm?_

_Oh shit._

Aster carefully set Jack down in one of the chairs in the sitting room and dashed down the hallway to the loo to grab a digital thermometer.  Hurrying back to Jack’s side, he scanned Jack with the device – which Jack had insisted they get once he was pregnant, since it was more accurate and quicker than the older methods – and had never been so happy to receive results as quickly as he was right then.

That was until he _saw_ the results.

Jack was running a _dangerously_ high fever.  He was nearly to room temperature!

“Aster.  Why is it so _hot_ in here?” Jack murmured tiredly, seemingly not noticing how he fell forward against Aster’s shoulder as he spoke.

“I’ve got you, Jack.  I’ve got you.  Don’t worry.  I’ll get you cooled down,” Aster babbled as he gathered Jack’s limp, barely conscious form in his arms and ran out of the burrow for the nearest tunnel.

“Mmm, okay.”

Aster was not nearly as swift as he’d like, but he was running bipedally and was carrying another body, so he had an excuse, not that he _wanted_ one.  Remembering what he’d been instructed, he ran for the nearest tunnel to Antarctica.  He’d never found a reason to be thankful that Antarctica was so close to Australia before now; it had just been an interesting geographical anecdote, one that meant little to him, since no children lived on that desolate and wind-swept continent, where winter reigned supreme.

Now, it might mean Jack’s _life_.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

“I do not think this a wise course of action, Seraphina.  Why should we move up the next lesser glaciation?  It is not scheduled for quite some time, yet.”

Mother Nature sighed as she removed the small frameless spectacles from their perch on her nose.  She then pinched the bridge of her nose afterward as she set the glasses aside, atop the stack of statistical readouts she’d conjured for Arcturus to examine several hours prior.

“Because we had an interesting conversation with Jack, Arcturus.  Did you know that many of the humans have convinced themselves that they are causing something they call ‘anthropogenic global warming?’”

Arcturus quirked an eyebrow questioningly, his left ear twitching in annoyance.

“What have they convinced themselves of _this time_?”

“They believe that they are responsible for the current warming trend, that they are outputting too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and causing a global greenhouse effect.”

Arcturus sputtered.

“ _What_?  Absolutely ridiculous!  Foolish mortals.  They are always ready to claim greater capabilities than they possess.  Their output is quite pitiful; I’m quite sure you’ve noticed.”

Seraphina nodded as she grinned darkly.

“Yes.  Even if they burned every last drop of their fossil fuels, it wouldn’t be enough to deter our work even slightly.  We can easily compensate; the Earth has only been warming because we _planned_ for it to be.”

“So you wish to move up the next glaciation to prove your point?  I swear.  You get more like Asteria every day.  She too would have taken offense at the very idea,” Arcturus replied, before pausing to consider the situation.  “However, given their hubris, I am inclined to acquiesce to your suggestion.  They survived one ‘little ice age,’ they’ll surely survive another.”

He stood and stretched, his limbs letting out a series of loud cracks, before he brought his hands together and flexed them outward, cracking his knuckles in turn.

“This looks like a job for –”

“Arcturus!” came the distant shout, funneled down to the Old Man’s personal Warren by his Wind.

“Was that Aster?” Seraphina inquired, the surprise evident in her voice.

_Unusual.  She does not usually manifest so strongly in one place that she would not already know who that was._

“Arcturus!” came the distant shout once more.

_Definitely_ E. Aster Bunnymund.

_Sigh_.

Arcturus growled.  “Yes.  It is.  The youngling sounds quite frantic.  Likely lost his patience with the frostling—”

“Arcturus!  Damn it, Old Man, Jack’s overheating!”

They turned startled gazes upon each other.

“This does not bode well,” Arcturus noted worriedly as they dispersed.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

 Aster was frantically calling for Arcturus as he settled Jack into the nearest snow bank.  He shivered in the biting cold, Jack too far gone to be able to shield him from the chill.

“Arcturus!  Damn it, Old Man, Jack’s overheating!”

“Out of the way, youngling,” came the gruff reply on the wind a moment later.

Aster’s ears twitched.

_Was that a hint of worry I heard?_

Before he could consider it further, Old Man Winter and Mother Nature both materialized out of the suddenly still air.  Seraphina immediately moved to Jack's side, placing one hand on his stomach and the other on his forehead.  Arcturus rapped his staff on Aster’s head.

“Oi!” Aster exclaimed, rubbing his bruise skull.  “What are you—”

“Quiet.  Do you yet feel the cold?  Should I strike you _harder_?”

Aster abruptly realized that he no longer felt the subzero temperatures.

_Huh._

He quickly shook his head in the negative.  Before he could retort, however, Seraphina turned to address them.

“Arcturus, he is not well.  The kits are in acceptable conditions for the moment, but the frostling’s internal temperature is still rising.  It is _double_ what it was during my visit last week.  You need to—”

“Yes Seraphina.  Out of the way, if you please,” he replied, voice rough and dark, as he threw his paw forward towards Jack.

Aster watched as the air around his mate began to crystallize, diamond dust forming in the still evening air above his prone form.  It was then that he noticed the slight warm glow where Seraphina’s hands had been moments before.  When he turned to look at her, he saw both her hands cast forward in a similar manner to the Old Man’s, with matching glows emanating from them.

“Sera?  What are you—”

“Hush, Aster,” she admonished, cutting him off abruptly.  “It takes us great concentration to keep the scan active without touch.”

Aster obediently snapped his muzzle shut.

_Okay then.  They keep cutting me of, so… I best keep an eye out while they work.  Yes, that’ll do._

An hour passed.

Arcturus and Seraphina had not moved a centimeter in that time and Aster was beginning to worry again.

“How is he?” he finally asked, his impatience getting the better of him.

Arcturus’ ears twitched at him in annoyance.

“Stable, for the moment, youngling.  However, he is not, as the humans say, ‘out of the woods’ just yet.  The fever has not yet broken, only been tempered by our work.  Now keep _silent_ until we see fit to speak to you.”

Aster huffed, but did as he was told, too worried about Jack to argue with the Old Man.

It was nearly dawn when they spoke to him again.

“Aster,” Seraphina said softly, suddenly, startling Aster out of his light daze.

“Yes?  What is it?  Is he okay?  Are…?”

“They are – acceptable, for the moment.  The fever has not broken.  We fear it may take yet more time.  However, if the fever does not break within the next few hours, you may have to make a difficult decision.”

Aster’s blood thundered in his ears, drowning out all sound for a moment, before he came back to himself with a gasp.

“You don’t mean—”

“The kits or your mate.”

Aster stared, not quite ready to accept that.

“But—”

“Hopefully, it will not come to that.  However, we cannot be sure at this time.  Arcturus is keeping him from overheating beyond his capacity as a spirit, but cannot reduce the temperature too severely, for fear of harming the kits.  If the fever does not abate, you will have to choose.  If we abort the pregnancy, he will surely be saved, for Arcturus could reduce the temperature sufficiently to counteract the fever completely.  If not, we cannot, at this time, guarantee either the kits or your mate.”

Aster’s legs gave out and he fell backwards into a snowdrift.  Not the he noticed, too shocked by what she was asking of him.

_Jack.  Or the kits.  Jack.  Or… no, I cannot think this way.  Jack would surely choose the kits, even at the cost of his own life.  But, can I really sacrifice him for them…?  Dare I try to save them all and possibly lose everything?  Can I live with myself afterward?_

He fought with himself, unable to make a decision, for the next couple hours before he was startled yet again out of his daze.

“Aster,” she spoke softly.  “You need to choose.  The fever may yet abate, but we cannot know when.  His body _needs_ to begin warming soon, or it will start to shut down.  However, if we allow that, before the fever abates, it could be disastrous.  You need to choose – do we try to save all of them, and risk them all, or just your mate?”

Aster froze, the blood again pounding in his ears, his heart racing.

“I – I – I….”

“Damn it, boy, we have to decide _now_.  Do we try to save the lot, or just the one?” Arcturus demanded.

_I – Jack.  You wouldn’t want me to give up hope, would you?_

Aster sighed, decision made.

“I cannot give up hope.  Jack wouldn’t let me.  Try to save them all.”

Arcturus grunted, but appeared satisfied with his answer.

“As you wish.”

Another hour passed, the Antarctic sun drifting low and lazy in the sky.  Abruptly, Arcturus and Seraphina lowered their hands and slumped momentarily, their bodies loosening from the tense postures they had held for the entire previous night and through the dawn.

“Sera?  Is he…?  Are they…?”

She gave him a sad smile and his heart skipped a beat, before she said softly, “Yes.  We think so.  The fever broke several minutes ago.  We will need to do a thorough scan of the kits once he has recovered.  You should take him to your nest.  He will need plenty of bed rest and fluids.  Treat him as if he were recovering from a particularly virulent strain of influenza.  He may yet feel lingering vertigo and nausea; it would perhaps be wise to keep a basin nearby.”

Aster sagged in relief, before gently and carefully gathering his mate into his arms.

“Don’t worry, Snowflake.  I’ve got you _and_ the little ankle-biters,” he murmured softly against Jack’s forehead as he hugged him close.  “Let’s take you home.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack did not wake until the following morning and was, as predicted, immediately sick.  Aster gently attended to him and softly explained what had occurred two nights before.  Jack assured Aster that he had made the right decision and, further, had he chosen to just save Jack, he would have understood.  Aster was touched by what that simple assurance implied, that Jack would trust him with his very life, and that of their as yet unborn kits.

Later that day, Seraphina arrived.

“Sera?  What are you doing here?  Jack has only woken this morning.  I don’t rightly think he’s ready for you to scan him.”

“Aster.  We have decided to keep our primary manifestation in residence.  In case of another emergency.  It will be but a month until your mate gives birth.  We have determined it best to be present at all times.  As well, we suspect that you have not shown him how to adjust his body for birthing.  We will assist in the training.”

Aster smacked his forehead.  “Bloody hell.  I completely forgot.  I’m a terrible mate.”

“Nonsense,” she replied gently, pressing a hand lightly to his muzzle.  “You are a wonderful mate.  You simply forgot an admittedly minor detail in the last several months, in favor of caring for your mate.  He is Pooka now; shapeshifting should come as naturally to him as breathing, with a little practice.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack was about as adept as shapeshifting as a dingo at deep sea diving.

It didn’t help that Jack objected strenuously to ‘becoming a woman’ at first.  Several days in, Seraphina blithely pointed out that, if he did not form a temporary birthing channel, she would be forced to resort to caesarian section.  Without anesthetic, as most Earth-born analgesics did not work correctly on Pooka.  In fact, several were poisonous.

The sprite quickly relented.

Not that that changed the fact that he was absolutely _terrible_ at shapechanging.  He’d have washed out of Pooka _kindergarten_ at the rate he was going.  In his efforts to accomplish this task, Jack managed to change just about every _other_ part of his body into something else at one point or another over the course of November.  Aster was still not sure about the lewd look Jack gave him when he managed to transform one of his arms into a _tentacle_.

He shuddered at the memory every time he thought about it.  Some things were just _not on_.

Jack _finally_ figured out the trick of forming a birthing canal as December rolled around.

Which, as it turned out, was not a moment too soon.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

The 8th of December dawned bright and cheerful.  Aster woke early and proceeded to the kitchen to make Jack his favorite tea.  As he set the kettle on to boil, a loud groan disturbed the quiet of the burrow.  Seraphina looked up sharply from where she had been idly reviewing statistical readouts she had no doubt conjured.

Aster never could understand why she preferred to examine data that way, when she already knew everything anyway.  He’d eventually remember to ask her one of these days.

“It is time,” she announced before dissipating abruptly.

Before Aster could take two steps, she reappeared from down the hall.  Oddly, her dress was a different color.  Yellow, instead of forest green.

“Your linens.  They are where?”

“Second drawer, third dresser on the left.”

“Thank you.”

She disappeared back down the hall.  Moments later, the front door opened.  Seraphina walked in, her dress now _brown_ , carrying several herbs from his garden.  With barely a nod, she headed down the hallway, chasing the loud moan that emanated from the nest.

_What the bloody hell is going on?_

He moved to follow, but Seraphina immediately reappeared.  This time in pale blue.

“We respectfully request that you wait out here until further notice.  You would be in the way at this time.  Perchance you might like to gather your friends?”

Aster huffed as she went back down the hall.  Her request at least made sense; their friends would likely kill him if he didn’t summon them.

He went down his seldom used secondary hallway, to his own globe room.  His hardened ceramic globe glittered in the faint light that filtered in through the shuttered hole in the ceiling.  Pulling on a nearby length of rope, he opened the shutters and bathed the room in the soft light filtering through several prisms and mirrors from above, into the heart of the burrow.

Moving to the central console, he activated his Aurora Australis beacon, after flipping several switches to ensure the rarely used red tones were present.  That way, the others would know it was not trouble he was summoning them for.  It was what they had agreed on as the signal, for when the time came.

Surprisingly, North was not the first to arrive, nor was Sandy.  It was Tooth, with Raven in tow.

“How is he?  Are they here yet?  Can we see them?” Tooth chittered excitedly as Raven all but hauled to her a sofa to wait.

“He’s fine, last I checked.  No, not yet.  No, Sera’s not letting _me_ back there, let alone anyone else.  Calm down, you crazy sheila.”

Tooth sighed in exasperation at his tone.  Raven simply shook his head in resignation, before flashing a smirk at Aster.

“Don’t give me that look.  You’re the troppo who’s dating her.”

Raven cackled as Tooth stared at Bunny in confusion.  Before she could say anything further, the door burst open to admit North and Frige.

“Ho ho!  How is our Jack doing Bunny?”

Aster growled.  “That crazy sheila won’t let me back there, so I have no bloody clue.”

Frige politely took a seat while North dodged into the kitchen.

“Oi!  Don’t touch the red pot of chocolate!” Aster called after him.  “Don’t touch the green, blue, or white pots either!  In fact, _don’t touch my chocolate at all!_ "

North replied simply with a booming chuckle.

“Stark raving mad, that one,” Aster muttered as he went to close the front door.

Sandy drifted in placidly before he got there, closing the door behind him with a giant hand of dream sand.  A question mark formed over his head as he gazed at Aster inquiringly, the sand tinkling faintly as it always did.

“Nothing yet.  Have a seat.  I’m sure North’ll find something for everyone to munch on soon enough.  I’m going to see if Sera will let me go back there yet.”

As Bunny walked past the kitchen, he stuck his head in and caught North holding the yellow pot of chocolate, his fingers on the lid.

“Oi!  _No Chocolate!_   Put that down!”

North visibly deflated, but dutifully put the jar back on the shelf and turned to the refrigerator, disappointment already forgotten.  Aster rolled his eyes and continued down the hall.  Unchallenged, he made it to the doorway of the nest and stopped dead.

There were no less than _six_ Mother Natures running around the room.  Each wore a differently colored dress.

“The hell…?”

The green-clad one – the only one visibly different from the rest, other than color, with her rarely-seen necklace visible for once – turned and addressed him.

“Ah, Aster.  Just in time.  We were just about to send one of ourselves out to fetch you.  Your mate has been demanding your presence.”

Aster immediately moved to Jack’s side.

“Yes, Snowflake?  How do you feel?”

Jack grabbed his proffered paw and squeezed tightly, his grip surprisingly strong.

“How do you _think_ I feel, ‘Roo?  I’m getting ready to push _four_ camels through the eye of a needle.”

Aster winced as his paw was crushed.

“I reckon you are.  ‘M sorry.”

“Oh, _you will be_ ,” Jack replied darkly.

Aster wisely kept his mouth shut after that.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack’s labor lasted a surprisingly short amount of time – only about four hours.  Aster suspected Mother Nature had a hand in it, given how heavily manifested in the burrow she was today.  He’d never seen her manifest more than one of herself before.  It was one thing knowing she was omnipresent and quite another to actually _see_ it.  Over the course of that four hour period, he swore he saw at least _two dozen_ different version of her, each one wearing a differently colored dress.

Only one necklace though, so he suspected that was the ‘real’ Mother Nature.

Jack spent the entire labor alternating between screaming pain and rage monster, with all his rage directed at Aster – and of the ‘how could you do this to me?’ variety.  One threat had been of particular note, if only because Aster found it amusing, in hindsight.

“Next time it’ll be you _up the duff!_ ” he’d shouted about halfway through.

Aster was quite proud of his usage of Australian slang.  Maybe he’d even compliment on it later.

Much later.

Maybe next week.

Or next year.

It seemed to take forever before the kits started popping out, one after the other, in quick succession.  At the same time, Aster felt like it had only been mere moments since he’d entered the room.  He wisely kept this observation to himself, however, as he didn’t feel that Jack could properly appreciate the finer points of Relativity at this time.

Soon, there were several squalling, naked, and hairless Pooka kits lying in four small baskets that had been set up at some point.  Jack was panting in relief and exhaustion and resting his head against Aster’s shoulder.  Six Mother Natures were clustered around the baskets on the other side of the room, talking amongst themselves in hushed tones.

_Does she really need to speak to herself out loud?  It’s bloody weird._

“Aster.”

Jack’s quiet, worn-out voice immediately drew him out of his thoughts.

“Yes, Snowflake?”

“We did it.”

“Yes, _you_ did.  Love you, mate.”

“I love you too,” Jack replied, before lifting his head off of Aster shoulder and looking over at the, now solo, Mother Nature.  “Can we see them?”

“Yeah!  Bring the four little ankle-biters over here, if you could, Sera,” Aster added.

“That,” Mother Nature replied as she turned around, a sad smile gracing her face.  “Is not entirely accurate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. I'm horrible for the cliffhanger. Need I remind you all that I am Evil Author? ^_^
> 
> As the muse has returned unto me, I shall hopefully be able to return to my swifter update schedule over the course of the next week or so.


	13. Kits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Babies!

Aster and Jack stared dumbly at her for several seconds.  Aster spoke first.

“What?”

Seraphina’s right hand came up to lightly stroke at the slim, uncut, dark-blue sapphire shard that hung from the plain golden chain around her neck.  She repeated the action for several moments; her head was tilted slightly to the side, as if listening to some unheard voice, her eyes briefly distant.  She eventually gripped the stone gently and took a deep breath, her gaze refocusing on the two Pooka before her.

“The Summer kit did not survive.  She is perfectly healthy, yet….”

Jack gasped in shock and huddled against Bunny shoulder, turning his face into the fur, as if using it as a shield.  The Winter Pooka shuddered as his mate stroked his fur soothingly.  Aster blinked back tears as he nodded.

“Could you – could you bring her to us before you…?”

“Of course, Aster,” she said, turning to pick up the small basket and carrying it swiftly over.

Amongst the light green blankets in the basket lay a small Pooka kit, unmoving, the barest hint of brownish fur visible in tiny tufts on her little ears.  Her skin was a light brown.

She was so _tiny_.

Jack reached out a hesitant paw to lightly caress the small form.  Aster quickly followed.

“Asteria,” Jack said softly after a moment.

Mother Nature’s eyes snapped to him, gaze sharp.

“What did you say?”

Jack smiled faintly, eyes not leaving the small kit, even as he withdrew his paw.

“We were going to name her Asteria, after….”

Seraphina’s gaze softened as she stepped back from the other two with the basket.  Another Mother Nature formed out of the air and took the basket from the original.

“We will take care of her,” the second one said, before both she and the basket faded out.

“Thank you,” Jack said, sniffling a bit, before squaring his shoulders and continuing, “Now, let’s see the others!  We can mourn Asteria later.  We have three living kits to celebrate!”

Aster gazed at Jack proudly as he added, “Yes.  Bring the little ankle-biters over here!  Let’s see ‘em.”

Seraphina smiled cheerfully. “As you wish.”

She then split into three – one each clad in green, blue, and yellow – and each took one basket gently and brought the remaining three kits to their parents.  The kits were easily distinguishable from each other.

The Spring kit’s skin was a pale pink, with little tufts of silvery fur on her ears.  Unlike Aster’s fur, which had a slightly blue tinge to it, her fur was tinged a pale violet.

_Almost like –_

“Lavender,” Jack announced, giving Aster a questioning look.

Aster gazed at the little girl for a moment longer before nodding, favoring Jack with a grin.

“I like it.  Now, who do we have here?”

Aster turned to examine the Winter kit next.  His skin was pale.  _Very_ pale – paler than Jack’s skin had been when he was still human.  The tiny tufts of fur on the kit’s ears were an extremely pale grey, which faded to white at the tips.

“Huh.  I expected him to be white, like me,” Jack commented.

“Oh, I’m sure he’ll fade to white soon enough, mate.  If I recall correctly, Winter kits are usually some shade of grey when born and fade out as they age,” Aster explained.

“Your memory is accurate, Aster,” Mother Nature confirmed.

“What should we call him?” Jack asked.

Aster frowned at the kit for a moment as he considered.

“Cypress?”

Jack smirked as he replied, “I like it.”

Grinning, they both turned at last, but not least, to the Autumn kit.  His skin was a ruddy shade of pale gold, light brown freckles peppered here and there, including a noticeable splash across his muzzle.  The tufts of fur on his ears were an interesting shade of ginger.

“A red head?” Jack asked in mild surprise.  “I didn’t expect that.”

Aster chuckled at Jack as he reached out to touch the Autumn kit.  He lightly touched the kit’s nose and received a weak little punch for his effort.

“Oi!  Feisty little bugger, isn’t he?” Aster said, laughing.  “What d’you think of Hawthorn, Jack?”

Jack pursed his lips for a moment, as if thinking it over, but then flashed a bright grin at his mate.

“I like it.  So!  Hello Lavender, Cypress, Hawthorn.  Welcome to the big wide world!”

Mother Nature smiled faintly as she gently removed the kits from their baskets, handing Lavender to Aster, before settling Hawthorn and Cypress in Jack’s arms.  Aster was gazing fixedly at his little girl; an expression of amazed wonder graced his features as she blindly grabbed at his paw-fur and tugged.

Jack leaned over and whispered to Seraphina, “What do you want to bet he ends up wrapped around her little finger?”

Seraphina flashed a smirk his way.  “In no time at all, we are sure.”

Jack raised an eyebrow in surprise at the smirk, shrugging gently before he asked, “Why are their eyes closed still?”

“They are not ready.  Their eyes need to adjust first – they are not quite fully operational yet. Give it a day, perhaps two, at most.  You will be able to see for yourselves soon enough but, as we suspect you are curious, Lavender has blue eyes, Hawthorn’s are green, and Cypress’ are blue, as well, although much paler; I cannot tell the exact shade without needlessly invasive scanning.  Do not forget, either, that Lavender is, genetically, yours, so it is likely her eyes will be the same shade as your own, frostling.”

“Awesome.  Hey.  A question.  Why are they so small?  I mean, human babies are usually thrice this size, at least!”

Seraphina smiled gently, saying, “Yes, that is true.  This is due to the fact that Pooka can have litters of up to eight kits at once; any larger and eight kits simply wouldn't fit inside you.  Your offspring will quickly grow to match, however.  For now, they are all about two pounds in weight, give or take a couple ounces.  Hawthorn is the heaviest, at two pounds, eight ounces.  They are all about one foot in length as well, although, again, Hawthorn is the longest by a couple of inches.”

“He’s going to be a big boy, I bet,” Jack observed, smirking.  “It looks like Cypress is the smallest.”  Mother Nature nodded.  “Just like me then.”

“And little Lavie is right in the middle,” Aster added distractedly.

Jack paused to stare at Aster.  It took a full minute for Aster to notice.

“What?” he said after a moment, trying not to fidget under Jack’s scrutiny.

“Lavie?” Jack questioned, his voice rising on the last syllable.

Aster’s ear fell back in embarrassment.  He flushed so brightly that Jack could see it through the thinner fur on his muzzle.  Jack laughed softly at his partner’s mortification.  He wiggled his pinky at him.

“Now what’s that supposed to mean, you gumby?”

“Nothing,” Jack replied, drawing out the last syllable with a rising note.

Seraphina giggled at Jack’s antics.  Aster turned startled eyes on her, completely forgetting about Jack's antics.

“I’ve not heard you giggle since you were an ankle-biter yourself, Sera.”

“Perhaps you would like to allow visitors at this time?” she inquired politely, still smiling, completely ignoring Aster’s questioning gaze.

Sufficiently sidetracked, Jack and Aster shared a look, silently communicating for a moment, before Aster nodded.

“Yes, but not all of them at once.  Don’t want to overwhelm the ankle-biters.”

She nodded, but didn’t move to leave.  A minute later, Tooth and Raven came down the hall, following a brown-clad Mother Nature, who faded out as she entered the nest room.  Tooth promptly squealed delightedly, clasping her hands in front of herself excitedly; she was practically bouncing.  Raven shook his head in exasperation at her behavior.

“Ooooh!  Aren’t they just the most adorable things ever!  So tiny!” she chittered excitedly.

Cypress sneezed.  Tooth giggled and sighed happily.

“That was just amazingly cute!  Oh, and look at that one!  She’s grabbing at Bunny’s fingers!  And and – wait, aren’t there four of them?  Where’s the other one?”

Jack and Aster lost all expression and simply stared at her.  After a moment, her eyes widened.

“Oh,” she said lamely, at a loss for words.

Raven grunted.  “Ahem.  My condolences.  As well, my congratulations!  We should focus on what we have, yes?”

Jack smiled at Raven and nodded.  After several minutes of banter and Tooth having held each kit at least once – Lavender twice – Raven gently tugged her back down the hall to let the others have a turn.  North and Frige promptly turned up moments later.

“Congratulations Bunny, Jack!  Three bundles of joy, yes?” North boomed as he entered the room.

Aster sighed and rolled his eyes at North.  Jack laughed at his reaction.  Frige was much more sedate, moving to kneel down on the edge of the bed next to Jack.  She gestured at the two kits he was holding.

“Who do we have here?” she asked.  North stepped up behind her.

“This one is Cypress; this is Hawthorn.  Aster is holding Lavender.  Do you want to…?”

Frige nodded.  Jack carefully passed her Hawthorn.  She smiled gently at the largest of the kits.

“He’s going to be a little ginger boy, if the bits of fur on his ears are any indication,” she commented after a moment.  “Any idea what their eyes look like yet?”

“Sera says that Hawthorn’s are green and the other two are blue.  We won’t know exactly what shades until they open in a couple days,” Aster replied.  His gaze kept drifting back to Lavender in his arms.

Frige smiled at that as she said, “She’s going to look very much like you, isn’t she Aster?”

Aster’s reply was a big, goofy grin, which somehow managed to convey being both proud and absolutely smitten at the same time.  After several more minutes of visiting, Frige and North made their excuses and went out to let Sandy know it was his turn.  He entered shortly thereafter, with –

“Baby Tooth!  You made it!” Jack exclaimed as she zipped right over to give him a hug against his shoulder.

She began chattering rapidly at him.  Jack nodded along, following her fast paced style of speech perfectly.  Aster eyed the pair oddly, before shaking his head and turning to the Sandman.

“Hey Sandy.  Isn’t she a beaut?” he asked proudly, offering Lavender to him.

Sandy carefully wrapped her in bands on dream sand and floated her over.  She immediately began to whine softly at the loss of Aster’s warmth.  Sandy chuckled soundlessly as he examined her, before gently passing her back to Aster.  As soon as she was safely back in his arms, she stopped fussing and immediately grabbed twin fistfuls of fur and began tugging again.  Bunny about melted in fatherly pride.

Sandy flashed several symbols at him, first to inform him that the others had already left – by showing small golden versions of them leaving through a door – and then flashed several more at him, inquiring after the kits’ health.  They chatted softly for some time, while Jack and Baby Tooth bantered and the little fairy cooed over the two kits Jack was holding.  Eventually, Jack yawned expansively.

“We think it is time for the frostling to rest.  Sanderson, would you be so kind as to help them settle down?  We have several things that need attending to elsewhere and require our full attention.”

Sandy nodded, giving her two large dream sand thumbs up.

“We shall visit you tomorrow, to ensure everything is going well.  And frostling?”

“Yes, Seraphina?”

“Good work,” she said, smiling fondly.

Jack beamed.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Mother Nature returned her primary manifestation home.

‘Home,’ for her, was a small, uncharted island in the middle Atlantic, a few degrees latitude north of the Tropic of Cancer.  It remained uncharted because her magic made it so, masking it from sight, both physical and electronic.  As well, that selfsame magic served fairly well to deter curious ship’s captains and pilots.

Despite her best efforts, ships sporadically ran aground on her shores.  The occasional plane crashed.  She had had to redouble her wards in the last half-century as more and more traffic routed through the region.  The mortals had started to take notice of her home indirectly, the so-called ‘Bermuda Triangle.’

If only they knew.

The island was covered in a primeval forest that harkened back to the late Jurassic, sub-tropical flora and fauna of that age populating it in equal measure.  She wandered past one of her many small lakes and paused a moment to watch several ichthyosaurs frolic in the water, running circles around a plesiosaurus.

“I see you lot are having quite a bit of fun, aren’t you?” she noted pleasantly.

The group of dinosaurs paused in their play to trill and roar greetings at her, before returning to their game.  She hummed thoughtfully as she watched them.

_That reminds me.  ‘Nessie’ has escaped again.  I need to retrieve her later._

Chuckling lightly, she move on, meandering past several ancient conifer groves before pausing once more just outside her ancient stone cottage, arm extending for an Archaeopteryx to alight on her arm.  Her other hand came up to rub gently across its head and neck, the light playing across the iridescent feathers.

“Hello, Urvogel.  Have you been guarding my little basket?”

The saurian-avian trilled cheerfully in affirmation as it nuzzled under her chin for a moment before taking flight, returning to its nest atop her hut.  Shaking her head fondly, she entered her home.

“It is good to be home,” she said softly as she entered.

The sapphire on her necklace pulsed gently.  She smiled.

“Let’s have a look now, shall we?”

Moving to stand next to her round oaken table, she gazed down at the tiny, unmoving Pooka kit in the basket.  She reached out, running a gentle finger across the small female’s muzzle in a loving caress.  Her other hand came up to gently stroke the sapphire again as it pulsed softly.  She tilted her head, gaze unfocusing for several minutes, her hands never ceasing in their slight motions.

Eventually, Seraphina nodded and tugged lightly on the sapphire.  A sharp click was the only indication of the hidden clasp releasing its hold on the uncut gemstone.  She carefully laid the shard atop the still body before her.  After a moment, the stone pulsed once.

“I agree.  She is perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooo, what's Mother Nature up to?


	14. Kits, Part Deux

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor delay in production as I worked out the rest of the fic, in brief. It appears that it will be either 18 or 19 chapters in total. I'll have a better idea once I work out how Chapter 16 goes.

Jack awoke slowly.  Oddly, he felt like something was missing.

_Oh, right.  I gave birth yesterday._

He gently probed his now-flat stomach, before his hand roved southward, past his sheath and down to the forward region of his perineum.  He sighed happily when he found smooth skin and thin fur.

 _I’m glad I could change back.  God, that was_ so _weird!_

As he drifted further into complete consciousness, he heard a soft snuffling sound and opened his eyes to see one of the kits rolling over in their sleep.  Lavender finished her roll and then snuggled into Hawthorn’s side and sighed in sleepy contentment.  Hawthorn let out a tiny snort in response and then lay still.  Cypress was snuggled up in a little ball of just himself and a small blue blanket about a foot from the other two.

He started to look around for Asteria –

 _Oh_.

Jack’s throat closed up and he fought to hold back the sudden rush of memory and the tears they brought with them.  He paused and concentrated on his breathing for several minutes; he didn’t want to start weeping while the kits were sleeping.  He’d have plenty of time to grieve in a bit, once he and Aster had –

_Speaking of Aster where is he?_

Tink.

Tink tink.

Jack abruptly noticed the faint sound of metal on stone.

Tink.  Tink tink.

_What is that?  I should – but I can’t just leave them – ah!_

Jack carefully stood and crept out of the nest.  He moved as far down the hall as he could, while still being able to see the kits, before he called out softly.

“Zygmunt!”

A faint pop resounded down the hall and then the Easter Elf landed on Jack’s head.

Again.

He did a graceful flip off of Jack’s head, giggling all the while, and landed with a flop and a light jingling from his bell.  Jack glared at the elf.

“You know, I _was_ going to ask you to watch the kits, but if you’re going to keep landing on my head every time you come by…” Jack stated off-handedly, trailing off as he moved to dismiss the elf.

Zygmunt fell to his knees and clasped his hands before him, plastering his best puppy dog impression on his face.

Jack eyed the pastel elf for a moment, before he asked, “Are you going to stop dropping in on my head?”

Zygmunt nodded his head vigorously.

“Well… _okay_ ,” Jack allowed, hiding a grin, “Go watch them.  Make sure they don’t leave the nest!  I’ll be back in a bit.”

The little elf jumped up and danced in a circle for a moment, before growing suddenly serious and snapping to attention, his bell jingling merrily.  He saluted Jack sharply and then dashed down the hall to take up position in the doorway, feet planted wide and arms crossed.  Jack shook his head in fond exasperation at the elf’s antics as he headed outside, where he thought he could still faintly hear the sound of metal on stone.

As he stepped out of the burrow, he caught sight of Aster, disappearing into the cliff face on the other side of the field.  It was covered in long, dangling strings of vine and moss, dotted here and there with pale white blossoms, between which his partner had slipped.

_Huh.  I never realized that there was anything back there._

Jack quietly, but quickly, made his way across the field, enjoying the fact that he could _move_ again.  As he approached the fall of foliage, he felt a gentle breeze blowing out from one particular spot.

_Aha!_

Carefully pushing the blooming foliage aside, he found a dim tunnel, lit only by dozens of patches of softly glowing moss.  The moss let off a faint blue light which allowed him to see Bunny’s paw prints in the dust on the floor.

_He must not enter here often._

Curiosity piqued, Jack carefully made his way down the tunnel, which sloped downward for a fair distance, before leveling out and abruptly opening onto a huge chamber.  The ceiling was at least five stories above his head, possibly higher; the carpet of glowing blue moss on the ceiling made distance difficult to determine.  Looking around the chamber, Jack was struck by the innumerable rows upon rows of obelisks.

The obelisks varied greatly in all their features, least of all the huge variety of stone that they were carved from.  Those nearer the entrance were squat and small.  As the rows move back into the darker recesses of the chamber in the distance, they got steadily larger, creating a sweeping rise towards –

_Whoa._

— one absolutely _humongous_ obelisk on the far side of the chamber.  It rose nearly to the ceiling and had to be at least fifty feet wide; in fact, some of the glowing moss had created a stalactite-like column connecting the ceiling and the very tip of the pyramidal top of the obelisk.  The moss had haphazardly grown down the top and sides of the edifice, highlighting a flowing calligraphy-like inscription in some language Jack didn’t recognize.  The letters were almost as tall as he was.

 _What_ is _this place?_

Looking around, Jack finally spotted Bunny.  The other Pooka was kneeling in a small circular plaza in the center of the chamber, which held a small collection of variously sized obelisks. That group formed a semi-circle near the far side of the plaza.  The tallest was perhaps ten feet in height.  It was also the widest, at about two feet to a side.  From Jack’s position at the entrance, he could just make out that Aster was, ever-so-carefully, settling a short, slim obelisk into place near the base of the tallest of the group.  He quietly crept forwards.

“Aster…?”

His mate started and tensed for a moment, before his shoulders relaxed and he replied without turning, “Hey Snowflake.  S’pose I should explain, yeah?”

Jack placed a paw on Aster’s shoulder and squeezed gently in reply.

“This is my graveyard.  All the rows of obelisks I raised in tribute to my fallen brethren from the Brotherhood.  The large one at the back is for all the others who died when –” he paused for a moment, sniffling; Jack waited patiently.  “Anyway.  This spot here is for my family.  I made a little one here in memory of Asteria….”

Jack knelt down next to him and hugged him close as Aster finally broke down and cried at the loss of their kit, whom they would never get to know.  His own tears joined his lover’s shortly afterward, as they clung to each other in shared grief.  It seemed like hours before the two of them recovered enough to speak again.

“I’m –” sniff.  “I’m sorry for breaking down on you there, Snowflake.”

Jack kissed his forehead.  “It’s alright.  Grief has a place and time.  Now was the time for ours over Asteria.  I... have a question, actually, if you don’t mind.”

Aster nodded his assent.

“Did you really carve all of these _yourself_?”

Aster smirked proudly, despite the tear tracks he was still wiping at, saying, “Well, my Sentinels helped set them up, but yeah.  I did.  Remember how I told you I hibernated for several millennia?  Well, that’s not entirely accurate; I’d wake up once every century or so and then spend several months carving obelisks out of whatever quality stone I could get my paws on before going back to sleep.  It took me quite a while to create this whole place.  At least the Sentinels were able to do the initial carving of the chamber without my direction.  That would have taken me at least a decade to get right.”

Jack offered a gentle smile, to which Aster gave a shaky one in return.  Standing, he proffered a hand to Bunny, who took it gladly and stood up beside him.

They walked out of the Pooka graveyard, hand in hand.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

When they returned to the burrow, they found Old Man Winter waiting for them outside the front door.

“Hello grandfather.”

“Greetings, frostling.  Aster,” he added, with a respectful nod.

Aster’s ear flicked slightly, before he returned the nod.  “Arcturus.”

“Would you like to come in?” Jack offered.  “I’m sure the kits will be up soon.”

Aster started as he realized something.

“Jack!  You left them alone?”

Jack smiled as he punched Aster’s shoulder lightly before heading inside.

“Of course not, silly rabbit.  Zygmunt is watching them.”

“ _The Elf?_   Are you off your rocker, Frostbite?” Bunny growled in reply.  “There’s no telling what kind of trouble he’ll cause!”

Jack simply shrugged as he wandered down the hall, only to return a moment later, trying not to laugh.  Arcturus raised an eyebrow enquiringly.  Jack burst out laughing.

“He’s – he’s – he’s –”

“Oh bloody hell.  I’ll go look for myself.”

Aster marched down the hall.  He returned a moment later.  Jack burst out laughing again at the expression on his face.  Bunny threw up his hands and marched into the kitchen to make breakfast.

“Would you care to share what you find so entertaining, frostling?”

Jack wheezed for a moment longer before replying, “The kits have found a new pillow.”

“Ruddy elf, snuggling with my kits,” came the grumpy response from the kitchen.

“Ah.  I see,” Arcturus observed, although the glint in his eye spoke otherwise about what he thought of the situation.

Jack and Arcturus settled in the sitting room as they talked.

“Hey, I was wondering.  Why hasn’t Eirlys visited yet?”

“Your mother has been quite busy standing in for you.”

“Oh.  Um, sorry?”

Arcturus smirked.  “Nonsense; before you were born, she performed your duties herself.  She is enjoying the challenge once again.  She will likely be able to visit once she’s caught up.  Speaking of your duties, there is something else I should discuss with you.”

Jack quirked an eyebrow inquiringly.  “Oh?”

“When you defeated the General, you opened the position of Winter Knight.  It is yours by right and custom.”

Jack tilted his head in confusion and opened his mouth to reply, but Aster’s angry retort as he reentered the room beat him to speaking.

“No!  Absolutely not!”

“You have no say in the matter, youngling.”

“Oh you bet your frosty white arse I do.”

“Now see here, youngling –”

“Stop calling me that!”

“It’s only what your behavior deserves –”

“Oi!  I’ve not been a youngling for –”

Jack kept looking back and forth between the two verbal combatants.  He hid a grin.  Obviously Aster knew what this job entailed and entirely disapproved of the idea of Jack formally taking it on.  Just as obviously, Arcturus was trying to give Jack a choice and, if his instincts were correct, probably thought Jack would be the best option, given the nasty nature of the majority of Winter spirits that existed.

Before he could say anything further, he noticed Zygmunt out of the corner of his eye, waving his hands to get his attention from the entrance to the hallway.  Jack moved unnoticed to the elf and squatted down to his level.

“The kits up?”  Zygmunt nodded.  “Think you could carry Lavender?”  Nod.  “Alright then.  Let’s bring them out and see if that shuts them up.”

Zygmunt grinned in response.

The two of them collected the kits and nonchalantly brought them out in the sitting room.  Jack settled on the chaise longue with Hawthorn and Cypress; Zygmunt carefully settled Lavender between Jack’s legs once he was comfortable.  The other two Pooka abruptly stopped arguing.

“Mate?  Oh, did he wake them?”

Arcturus rolled his eyes in an exaggerated fashion.  Jack stifled a laugh as he glanced at Zygmunt, who shook his head in the negative.

“No.  I think they’re just hung – crap.  How do I feed them?  I don’t have boobs!”

Arcturus snorted.  “Grow some.”

Jack blinked.  “What?”

Aster smirked.  “Like this.”

Aster’s face took on the look that Jack had learned meant concentration and focus.  After a moment, two mounds grew out from his chest.  Within seconds, Aster had a pair of ample breasts that looked heavy with milk; he retrieved Hawthorn and Cypress, who happily settled in to suck, purring softly.  Jack’s head tilted to the side in consternation.

“Right.  Shapeshifter.  Forgot.”

Arcturus snorted again.

“Hey!  I’m still new to this whole shapeshifter thing!”

“Valid point.  You _do_ remember how to change, yes?  Imagine what you want, focus on your magic, and _push_.”

Jack nodded and took a deep breath, focusing on the – bizarre – image of himself with a pair of small breasts.  After a moment, he pushed with his magic and felt his chest expand –

_Such a fucking weird sensation, that._

 – and promptly had his own pair.  He made a point of making them smaller than Asters.  Because he could, damn it.  He gently lifted Lavender to his chest and was startled when she immediately grabbed the nearest breast and started sucking.

“Oooh, that’s _weird_ ,” he complained.

Arcturus chuckled.  Aster laughed outright.

“You will get used to it,” the Eldest stated.

“Uh huh.  Sure.  When do we wean them again?”

“You can nurse them for up to nine months or so.  However, you can begin weaning them by four months, if you must.  Therefore, April.”

“Right.  April it is then.  Did I say how weird this feels?”

Aster laughed again.

The three Pooka chatted for the half hour it took to feed the kits.  After the feeding was over, Jack quickly got rid of his breasts.  Aster followed suit, although Jack secretly suspected it was for his benefit and not because they bothered his mate in any way.

“Weird,” he stated again.

Arcturus took Cypress from Aster and the trio proceeded to burp the kits.  Afterward, Jack tickled Lavender a bit, causing her to giggle excitedly.  He then bumped noses with her, sparking another fit of giggles.  It was then that he felt a sudden warming sensation on his chest.

And it was _wet_.

Jack pursed his lips and closed his eyes as he asked, voice neutral, “Did she just do what I think she did?”

Lavender giggled.

Aster stifled a snort before replying, “Yeah, mate.  You might want to go wash up.  Here, I’ll take her.”

Jack sighed as he stood and froze the dampness that was seeping into his fur.  He marched with as much dignity as he could muster down the hall and spent the next half-hour cleaning his fur.  Eventually satisfied, he returned to the sitting room, a question on his mind.

“I thought spirits didn’t have to urinate.  How…?”

Arcturus smiled.  “I expect you were urinating during the pregnancy, yes?”

“God, those little ones were _dancing_ on my bladder and I was having to – wait.  Why the hell was I doing that?”

Arcturus chuckled.  “The kits are not yet able to fully process their bodily waste products, as their magical cores are not sufficiently developed.  Your bladder filled as a result.  They will likely need to urinate for the first six to twelve months, depending on how quickly their magic develops.”

Jack stared at the Eldest for a moment, before asking dumbly, “What _else_ haven’t you told me?”

Aster stifled another snort.  Arcturus opened his mouth to reply, but Jack held up a hand to stop him.

“Nevermind.  More importantly, before the kits got hungry –” Jack paused as he glanced down to where the aforementioned kits were playing with Zygmunt.  Jack stifled a laugh of his own at the look on Aster’s face when he noticed what the elf was doing before he continued.  “—You mentioned something about a… knighthood?”

Aster scowled and opened his mouth to object.  Jack frosted his muzzle shut.

“You.  _Quiet_.  Let him explain, _to me_ , first.  Then you can object all you want.”

Aster’s huff was muffled by the frost on his muzzle, but he stayed quiet after he cleaned it off.  He crossed his arms moodily as Jack turned back to Arcturus.  Jack noted that his lips were twitching, as if he was trying to suppress a smile and not-quite succeeding.

_Awesome.  At least someone appreciates the humor inherent in that situation!_

“So, knighthood?” Jack asked, smirking.

Arcturus lost his battle and smirked in return as he said, “Yes.  The Knighthood of Winter.  It’s quite simple really.  I and your mother are usually quite busy with our own duties.  The Knight is responsible for ensuring that the rest of the Winter spirits remain in line.  With force, if necessary.”

Judging by the look on Arcturus’ face –

“I’m going to guess that’s usually the case.”

Arcturus nodded.  “Now, the position is not without its own, as you might say, ‘perks.’  The mantle itself in embodied in a garment, which I can create for you in whatever style or fashion you desire.  You already possess a great deal of power for a ‘lesser’ Winter spirit.”

“Oi!  He’s not –”

Jack frosted Aster’s muzzle shut again.

“Quiet.  All the Winter spirits outside of the Court are termed ‘lesser.’  It’s simply the jargon,” Jack turned back to Winter.  “You were saying?”

“With your full elevation to the Court – which, in truth, only consists of your mother and myself at the present time, _not_ including several ‘pets’ of hers – you would see an increase in magical strength.  Of exactly how much, I am unsure.  It varies.”

Jack was distracted momentarily by a giggling Lavender as she yanked on Zygmunt’s hat, waving her fist around and making the bell jingle.  Hawthorn was half-dragging himself across the rug toward a wayward stuffed animal that had shown up at some point.  Cypress was sitting – well, as much as he could _sit_ just yet – against a pillow and watching the other two with a very serious expression on his face.

It was then Jack noticed that their eyes were open.

“Oh!  How did I not notice that earlier?  Their eyes are open!”

Aster chuckled.  “You’ve been a bit distracted, haven’t you, Snowflake?  Look!  Lavie has your eyes!”

Jack smiled at Aster as he thought, _totally going to be wrapped around her little finger.  Totally._

As it turned out, Lavender had an almost exact duplicate of his eyes, down to the snowflake-like pattern in the irises; with Aster’s coat colors, which the little bits of fur she was sprouting indicated she had, she would truly look like their child soon.  Cypress’ eyes were also blue, but so pale as to be nearly white.  Depending on how light his fur got, they might still stand out.

Hawthorn’s eyes looked amber, at first.  However, upon closer inspection – which Jack only did after he was assured the boys had already urinated while he was bathing – he found little shards of green and even a bit of brown.  Sort of a reverse-hazel.  It would likely be a stunning combination with the ginger fur he seemed to be growing.

“Sorry, grandfather.  I got distracted.”

“Not an uncommon occurrence, with you, frostling.  Now, you need not worry about handling the duties, should you accept them, until the kits are old enough to not need your constant care.  I have been – _enjoying_ the task of ‘discouraging’ the ‘applicants.’" His ears twitched.  "We can discuss it at length at another time.  For now, I think you should attend to your kits; I have several ‘applicants’ to ‘discourage,’ it seems.”

The dark grin that graced the Eldest’s face left no doubt in Jack’s mind what he meant by ‘discourage.’  He nodded.

“Okay.  Later it is.  Have fun!”

Arcturus’ dark chuckle was all the answer Jack got as the Eldest Pooka dissipated into diamond dust.

“That’s not ominous.  No, it’s not,” Jack remarked as he turned to Aster.  “I’m sorry for frosting your muzzle.”

Aster planted a kiss on Jack’s forehead.  “I forgive you, Snowflake.  I was getting out of hand, not letting you choose your own way.  Please, _please_ talk about it with me first before you decide?”

Jack smiled and kissed Aster properly.

“I will.”

“Now, how about some lu—Ow!”

Zygmunt had stumbled into Aster’s shin and bashed his little bell into it.  Aster rounded on the elf, who dashed outside through a nearby window.  Aster’s bellow carried throughout the Warren.

“Zygmunt!”


	15. Toddling Around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Delays, delays, delays. Ah well, a new chapter! Enjoy!

Jack saw neither hide nor hair of Eirlys until halfway through January.

It was the hide he saw first.

Belatedly.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

_Such a lovely view_ , Jack thought idly as he crested a hill in the Warren that overlooked the Coloring River.

He was out of the burrow taking a nice, long walk, Aster having taken over watching the kits while he got some much needed exercise.  The past month had flown by in a flurry of kits, kits, kits, and more kits.  The kits were already beginning to walk, albeit quadrupedally, although they mostly just stumbled around for a few steps before collapsing.  Hawthorn had made the most progress so far, but that wasn’t saying much.

He still found it quite odd how quickly Pooka kits developed.  Aster had explained a bit about it; that they developed at an extremely accelerated rate, by human standards.  By the age of just four to five months, they would be the mental equivalent of a one year old toddler.  At nine months, give or take, they would be like a two year old.  They would be equivalent to an _eight_ year old human child by the age of _three_.  Aster assured him that the pace slowed down drastically after that, but it was still mind-boggling.

Apparently, though, their bodies didn’t develop at quite the same rate.  Sure, they learned to walk and talk faster, the latter mainly due to the quickened mental development cycle, but they didn’t become fully bipedal until they were nearly three years old.  Their final growth spurts wouldn’t be until their early to mid-teens.

Three, it seemed, was the ‘magic’ age for Pooka.  They reached the ‘age of reason,’ became bipedal, and, apparently, began to express bits of wild magic, if they had any.  Aster informed Jack that he wouldn’t have to worry about the kits learning to use the tunnels until they were at least that old.  Jack had asked him why this was so and gotten a shrug and an “I dunno, mate” for his effort.  Aster suggested they ask Arcturus the next time the Old Man visited.

Jack was still mulling all that information over as he wandered; this meant that it took him a while longer than usual to notice that he was being followed.  When he finally did, his forward momentum stuttered for a split second before he moved to continue forward as if he hadn’t noticed.

But it was too late.

“Rawr!”

“Ack!”

Thump.

“Oof!”

Crash.

“Ow!”

Lick.

_Sigh_.

“Hello, _mother_.  Care to explain why I have a several hundred pound dire wolf laying on me?” Jack greeted as he pushed against the wolf lying on his chest with little success.

The large white dire wolf appeared from out of the thicket next to Jack while Eirlys’ favored pet, a large black dire wolf, lay on his small frame, happily licking his face, muzzle, paws, ears – anything the big softie could reach.  She was grinning from ear to ear.

“Why, hello to you too, my frostling.  Bleddyn just wanted to greet you as well.”

Jack shoved again at the bulk lying atop him.  The large wolf finally moved; Jack groaned as he felt the weight lift from his chest.

“Ugh.  You’re just lucky I speak Welsh and can pronounce your names, Eirlys.”

Eirlys simply laughed – an odd sound, coming from a canid, sounding almost half-bark.  Jack stood up and brushed himself off.

“What are you and Bleddyn doing here?  Is something the matter?”

“No, Jack.  We simply came to meet your kits.  After all, I am, in a manner of speaking, their grandmother.  You wouldn’t deny me that privilege, now would you?” she explained, adding ‘puppy dog eyes’ for effect.

_How does she_ do _that, making a dire wolf look so_ tame?

“Not like that, you’re not.”

“Please.  This is just for travel.  Bleddyn can wait outside, if he must; I will change when we get there,” she replied, moving up to trot alongside Jack as he began the trek back to the burrow.

“Hey, Eirlys.  Do you know why Seraphina hasn’t been by recently?  She dropped in for a visit the day after Arcturus did, to check up on my health and the kits, but hasn’t been back since.”

Eirlys cocked an ear towards him but kept her eyes straight ahead.  “She has barred Father and I, along with everyone else, from her island home.”

“What?  Why?  And what ‘island home?’”

“She lives on an island in what the mortals call the ‘Bermuda Triangle.’  Her wards are what cause that strange phenomenon that the mortals have developed an entire mythos around.”

Jack blinked in surprise.  “Huh.  Guess it makes sense.  Why is no one allowed to visit right now?”

“She didn’t say.  Likely, she is experimenting with evolution again.  The last time someone interrupted her during an experiment, we got the platypus.”

Jack grinned.  “Duly noted.”

Eirlys’ tongue lolled out of her muzzle in a wolfish grin for a moment, before she tilted her head thoughtfully.  “Question.  Have you tried to use your magic yet?”

“What do you mean, _yet_?  Of course I have.  I do several things every day with it.  Why do you ask?” Jack inquired as they

“Have you tried anything _difficult_ yet?”

“No.  I’ve not had the need,” Jack replied, frowning, before repeating himself.  “Why do you ask?”

She sighed gustily.  “You should find the time to work on your harder magic, frostling.  With your new body and the recent changes from pregnancy, your magic is likely to be all over the place.  You need to practice with it to… ground it, I suppose is the best phrasing.”

Jack raised an eyebrow enquiringly, before shrugging and grasping his staff harder and focusing for a moment.  He attempted to disperse and move forward several feet.  He was partially successful.

Partially.

When he reformed, he fell over, dizzy and disoriented.

“Whoa.”

“I told you.  You need to practice again.  I would also recommend that you have your mate begin training with you until his busy season starts up again.  Katherine, myself, or any of your other friends can watch the kits for an hour or two each day.  It would not be hardship.  We are all aware that you are still adjusting.”

Jack nodded and smiled his thanks.

“I think I will.  Soon.  For now,” he said, pausing to open the door to the burrow, “Would you like to see your … grandkits?”

She laughed lightly as she transformed.

“Oh, certainly.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack took Eirlys up on her suggestion.  He convinced Aster to allow their friends to watch the kits for a couple hours each day while they trained together – martial, magical, and otherwise.  It was really helping him get back in the swing of his new body and was quite fun too.  He often turned the sparring or training into competitions, which Aster was always ready to partake in.

After the first week of practicing with his magic again, he felt ready to go out and have some fun performing his snow and cheer.  It went swimmingly, apart from the fact that no one but the handful of believers in Burgess being able to see him.

_Ah well.  I’ll start working on getting more believers once the kits are a bit older._

Then the Groundhog declared an early spring.

Jack was _not_ amused.

Surprisingly, to Jack, neither was Aster.

“I mean, I know you hate him, Aster, but he announced an early spring!  I thought you’d be all over that.”

“Aye, well… y’see, Snowflake, while I don’t much like the cold, you do.  Seeing as how I don’t _need_ the early spring to do my work…”

Jack grinned brightly and proceeded to show Aster exactly how much that sentiment meant to him.

Zygmunt was playing with the kits in the other room anyway.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

A week after Valentine’s Day – and Jack having successfully avoided its randy patron spirit for yet another year – Jack found himself home alone with the kits.  Aster was off collecting some samples of plants he’d heard about and was considering adding to his gardens.

Zygmunt was visiting again.  He usually arrived early in the morning most days of the week, now, and didn’t leave until sundown.  Unless Aster chased him off.  At the moment, he was in the middle of the sitting room with Lavender, who was quite happily directing Zygmunt to stack the set of semi-hardened cloth blocks one atop the other for her to knock down.  They’d been engaging in variations of that activity for the past hour.

Cypress, serious little kit that he was, was reading.

_Well, if you call flipping through a picture book and staring for several minutes at each picture ‘reading.’_

Hawthorn was the most physically active of the kits.  Jack had been watching him wander around, albeit shakily at times, the room on all fours exploring every nook and cranny.  When the kit had gotten bored with that activity, he proceeded to attempt to climb up onto the furniture.  He’d already learned how to stand with support, although he couldn’t take a single step as of yet.

Speaking of Hawthorn – Jack glanced around the room and didn’t see the kit anywhere.

“Hawthorn?” Jack called as he stood.  “Where are you?”

Zygmunt stood from where he’d been playing with Lavender and dashed down the hall while Jack checked the kitchen.  They met up a minute later, both unsuccessful.

“Where could he have gotten off too?” Jack pondered aloud, worry squirming in his stomach.

His gaze alighted on Cypress as the kit turned to gaze at him.  The little white Pooka’s face scrunched up for a moment before he blurted, “Out!” and threw his hands up over his head.  He fell over from the momentum.  Lavender giggled.

Jack’s eyes flew open and he dashed over to the front hall.

The door was open.

_Shit!  We forgot to close it when Aster left!_

“Zygmunt!  Watch them!  I have to go find Hawthorn!”

Jack flew out the door, closing it behind him, before the elf could finish his salute.  He paused in the field outside the burrow, calling for his wayward child as he scanned the ground for signs of passage.  A couple broken twigs and a tuft of Hawthorn’s ginger fur gave him a direction.  At least those tracking lessons of Aster’s were good for something.

Jack ran for several minutes, following little signs here and there of a small Pooka’s passage, but eventually came across a spill of gravel across a large stone slab and lost the trail.  Panicked, he dashed about the clearing, fruitlessly trying to rediscover the trail, but to no avail.  While it was true that there were no predators that could harm him, Hawthorn could still fall off of a high spot or into a pool of water.

Jack wasn’t about to let that happen.  His panicked state reached a peak and then –

5.12 feet to his left, an earthworm burrowed in the hillside.

4.2 yards to his right, a squirrel slept in a tree.

46.8 yards ahead, a butterfly rested on a flower.

52.45 yards ahead and to his right, there was –

_Hawthorn!_

Jack sprinted forward without a second thought for _how_ he knew where to find Hawthorn, just that he knew where the kit was.  He rounded the bend and the Coloring River came into sight.  Hawthorn was –

Hawthorn was playing in a little pool off to one side of the river, half covered in paint.

Jack sighed heavily as he relaxed and walked forward.

“Hey little guy,” he said as he approached and knelt behind his son.  “How’d you get out here?”

Hawthorn turned and smiled at Jack, splashing his paws once in greeting, before his jaw went slack and his eyes widen at something over Jack’s shoulder.  Before Jack could look to see, Hawthorn bounced out of the pool, onto Jack’s knee, then up onto Jack’s shoulder and _launched_ himself after – after the butterfly Jack had noticed earlier when he –

_What the hell was that?  Could it be the kenning Aster told me about?  I’ll have to ask him later_.

Jack quickly grabbed his _airborne_ kit before he hurt himself.

“Nuh uh uh, little guy.  Back to the burrow with you.”

Hawthorn pouted.

“Not going to work on me, Hawthorn.  How about a bath?  We need to get you – and me,” Jack said, pausing as he noticed the brightly colored paw prints decorating his fur and paws, “cleaned up.”

Hawthorn giggled and grinned.

“That’s what I thought.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

It was April 15th.  Five days before Easter 2014.  Aster had been driving Jack up a wall with how frantically he was working - or overworking, as Jack called it behind his back. Jack tried to be understanding, but the kits were a handful at the best of times – and right now wasn’t the best of times.  Even with Zygmunt’s help, he was only managing so much.  But then –

“Jack!” called a young male voice from outside the burrow.

“The hell— _Jamie_?” Jack exclaimed as he opened the door to find all his believers standing out in the field, staring around in awe – well, except for Sophie, but she’d already seen the place.  She was already busy chasing several egglets around the field.  “What are you guys doing here?  How did you get in?”

“I invited them, mate.  Thought you could do with the company,” Aster drawled from just out of his line of sight, next to the doorway.

Jack poked his head out further to find Aster leaning casually against the wall – well, as casually as he could look with about a half-dozen egglets crawling all over him, begging to be painted – and grinned.  He reached up and pulled Aster’s muzzle down for a kiss.  The girls went ‘aww’ and the boys went ‘eww.’

_Typical._

“Thanks.”

“No worries, mate.  Now you sprogs get inside and _stay out of trouble_.  I’ll come fetch you later to help me with my painting, like you asked.”

“Okay!” they chorused as they filed inside past Jack.

“Love you ‘Roo.”

“Love you too, Snowflake.  Now get.”

Jack parted with one final chaste kiss and a wave as he shut the door and turned around to find all seven children staring at him expectantly.  Jack blinked several times.

“… Yes?”

“Can we see them?  _Please!_ ” Pippa begged.

Jack rolled his eyes.  “Sure.  They should just be getting up from their midday nap.  Just wait here in the sitting room for a minute.”

“Yay!” they chorused.

Jack shook his head fondly.

_Children._

Jack began speaking loudly as he moved down the hall.  “The first thing that you lot should know is that Pooka kits grow up faster than humans do.  They may only be about four-and-a-half months old, but they are already equivalent to a one year old human baby.  Don’t let them catch you off guard.  They behave older than they look.”

“Yes, Jack!” came the reply from Pippa and Jamie.

Jack found the kits awake and wandering around the nest, poking at toys and each other.  Zygmunt was dutifully retrieving something that Lavender had pointed at as Jack entered with the command of “Iggy!”

_Iggy?_ Jack thought, sighing mentally as he rolled his eyes.  _Only two weeks shy of five months and she already has a minion.  I fear for the Workshop when she’s older._

Gathering up the kits with Zygmunt’s help – who had really proven himself useful in the past few months as a semi-live-in nanny, when he wasn’t annoying Aster – Jack herded them out to the sitting room.  He carefully passed Lavender to Cupcake and Hawthorn bounded over to Pippa of his own accord.  Cypress sat off to the side and watched the group exclaim and giggle over his siblings.

Jack fielded questions for close to a half-hour before Cypress decided to join the group.  He went straight to Jamie, climbed up into his lap, and gazed at the boy’s face seriously for several moments, before bumping the top of his head against Jamie’s chin and snuggling in.  Jack snickered at Jamie’s dumbfounded expression.

“Aww, Jamie, I think he likes you!” Pippa teased as the twins made ‘gooey eyes’ at the pair.

For the rest of the children’s visit to the burrow, Cypress stayed glued to Jamie’s side.  When the children left the burrow to go paint eggs, Cypress climbed up on Jamie’s back and rode along while Hawthorn ran circles around the group; Lavender had managed to cajole Cupcake into carrying her.  Zygmunt dutifully followed along at Cupcake’s heel.

The children painted eggs with Aster for about an hour before it was time to go.  As the kids packed up to leave with Aster, Jamie appeared to remember something and pulled Jack aside.  Cypress followed.

_Of course._

“What’s up kiddo?”

“You owe me a favor,” Jamie declared seriously, a dark frown on his face.

Jack quirked an eyebrow inquiringly.  “Why?”

“Remember when you swore in front of Sophie last year?”

Jack tilted his head thoughtfully for a moment before he remembered.  His eyes widened.

“Yeah.  I thought so.  Guess who got grounded when she copied you?”

“Um… sorry?”

“Favor.  You owe me.”

“Crap.  Yeah, I do.”

“Crap!” came a girly squeal from behind Jamie.  “Crap crap crap!”

Jamie spun on the spot and all-but-shouted, “Bad word!  Don’t say that Sophie!”

Her eyes widened and she shrieked gleefully as she ran away from Jamie.  “Craaaaaaaaap!”

Jamie turned a glare on Jack, who held up his hands defensively.

“Okay, okay.  How about two favors?”

Jamie considered.  “Three.”

Jack sighed and nodded.  Satisfied, Jamie stalked off in pursuit of his wayward sister, who was now chasing Hawthorn in a circle around the group of children, squealing delightedly.  Aster caught Hawthorn and passed him to Jack, along with Lavender.  Cypress had to be peeled off of Jamie, but reluctantly let go.  Zygmunt began to clean up the area of excess paint and brushes, while Aster escorted the children back home.

Jack retired with the kits to the burrow for a long nap.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Kits settled in their nesting-cradle off to one side and already fast asleep – Hawthorn having passed out the moment his head touched his pillow – Jack took a moment to gaze at himself in the mirror, having not had a chance to examine himself in several months and curious about how he’d been growing.

He already knew, from standing next to Aster, that he was, _finally_ , almost six feet tall.  Another month or two of growth, Aster had said, and he should top six feet.  He was disturbed by just how giddy that made him.

His reflection showed that the Lichtenberg-like markings that wrapped around his body from his crown to his tail had darkened considerably, having become a readily visible smoky grey that glinted with a bluish hue in the light.  The top inch or so of each ear had darkened to the same shade, along with the very tip of his tail.  He was careful not to rub at his tailbase this time while examining himself.  His fur looked less bushy and more – silky.

_At least, that’s what Aster calls it_.

Suddenly yawning expansively, Jack’s long day caught up with him as he belatedly realized how worn out he himself was.  He glanced longingly at the reflection of the bed in the mirror.

_Perhaps I should take a nap while Aster’s away…._

Jack was asleep before his head hit the pillow, so he never noticed the strange whorls that started to waver and wander around in the mirror’s glass surface, which he had left facing outward in his sudden exhaustion.

Two glowing yellow eyes manifested after a moment and tendrils of dark sand began to seep out of the darkness that now inhabited the reflective surface.  A low, dark laugh resonated through the burrow, unheard by its inhabitants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mwahahahahahahaha!


	16. Hunting

Zygmunt waddled along the path back to the burrow, the pots of paint carefully balanced atop his head, hat in hand.  In turn, the used paint brushes were tightly packed within it.  He pondered, as always, what the day would bring next.  Certainly, it was already late afternoon and he would have to return to the Workshop in a few hours for the night, as had become customary.  With the kits asleep for the foreseeable future, perhaps he should return home early –

A horse whinnied ahead and around the bend.

_Wait, what?_ he thought, bemused, as he stumbled.  _There are no horses in the Warren._

The pots fell off his head and it was only an amazing feat of dexterity and acrobatics that allowed him to catch them all before they smashed on the ground.  Quietly and carefully setting the pots aside and emptying out his hat, which he then rolled and stuff partially inside the bell to silence it, he crept forward to peek around the corner. 

What he saw chilled him to the bone.

He bolted back the way he had come, in search of Aster.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

The ankle-biters safely returned to Jamie’s house, Aster returned to the Warren at a relaxed, though swift, pace.  It felt good to just stretch his muscles, even if it added a few more minutes to his return trip than absolutely necessary.  He had some time to spare, even if it was only five days until Easter.  After all, last year had been successful, so he didn’t have to spend _every_ waking moment preparing.  Just most of them.

Aster entered the Warren – and tripped over _that damn elf_.

“Zygmunt! What have I told you – eh?” Aster shouted as he stood up and brushed himself off, pausing in his building tirade at the elf’s antics.

The annoying elf was waving his hands and pointing back the way he’d come.

“What is it?”

Zygmunt spun on the spot and searched around before finding a stick and quickly – surprisingly so – scrawling in the dirt.  Aster quickly recognized a rough image of the burrow and – and _horses_ in the field out front – what the bloody hell was the little drongo –

His heart skipped a beat as his blood ran cold.

Not horses.

_Nightmares_.

Double-checking that he had his boomerangs, Aster grabbed the elf and brought him to eye level.

“Nightmares?  Here?  _At_ _my burrow_?”

The elf nodded vigorously.

“How many did you see?”

The elf held up four fingers.  Aster felt a chill run down his spine.  Not at the number – which was decidedly low, especially after what Pitch did in ’12 – but at the fact that there were that many and _Jack hadn’t killed them yet._

“Can you get Sandy?  And then the others?”

The elf nodded seriously and, without warning, disappeared with a soft popping sound from Aster’s grasp.  Not sparing another thought for the wayward elf, Aster took off as fast as his legs could carry him.

A bullet would have been jealous.

In no time, he rounded the last bend that led to the burrow and was met with the sight of _six_ Nightmares, not four.  More must have materialized since the elf left.  Also a bad sign.  If Jack was fighting, their numbers should be decreasing.  Without another moments thought, he flung his boomerangs.

Two Nightmares down, four to go –

_Bloody hell_.

– _eight_ more to go.  Four more trotted out of the burrow where, from his new position in the center of the field, he could see thin tendrils of nightmare sand wavering as if in a stiff breeze.

_Not good_.

Catching and flinging his boomerangs with a forward flip that turned into a hard kick.  Landing, sweeping spin with his other leg.  Punch to the left.  Right.  Center.  Jump.  Catch ‘rangs.  Throw.

Four down, four to go.

Land.  Catch.  Throw.

Two.

Roundhouse kick.

One.

Flip.  Downward slam with both feet.

Zero.

Land.  Catch.  Pant.  Assess.  Listen.

_Tinkle_.  From _behind_.

Aster spun around, ready to throw, but caught himself before he gave Sandy a face full of boomerang.

“Sandy!  Inside!”

The Sandman nodded seriously and cracked his knuckles before flicking his wrists and forming his sand-whips.  Launching himself forward and spinning his whips into a series of arcs, Sandy made short work of the tendrils of nightmare sand that seemed to permeate the dwelling.  Dashing inside, the pair of Guardians found the final nightmares in the burrow to be only the little ones circling Jack and the kits heads.

Sandy floated closer, dissipating his whips as he tilted his head in confusion, a large question mark appearing above his head.

“What is it?”

Sandy flashed several images that amounted to, “ _This feels different than before.  Give me a moment to study it._ ”

Aster nodded, as worry twisted his insides, and watched as Sandy hovered over Jack’s head and carefully examined the tiny nightmare.  It was indistinct, hazy, but Aster thought he could make out something Pooka-like and – was the mini-Pooka _bleeding_?  Before he could examine it further, Sandy gave a decisive nod and tapped the sand.  It quickly turned golden, then dissolved.

The Guardian of Dreams shifted over to examine the kits as Aster bolted to Jack’s side.  Jack woke slowly.

“Wha – what?  Happened… um, what –” Jack gave a sharp shake of his head.  “What happened?  I feel like I got run over by a buffalo.  Again.”

Aster filed that odd statement away for later questioning, instead answering Jack’s inquiry with a brief synopsis of the earlier events.  Finished, he turned to see Sandy just dismissing the first of the three remaining nightmares.

“How did they get – _ooooh_ , I don’t… feel… so good.  Ugh.  I –”

Whatever Jack was going to say was cut off by a series of racking coughs and a shove at Aster to back up.  Obeying, Aster was witness to Jack rolling over and vomiting up bile and – and –

_Blood._

Fear gripped his heart once more as he rushed to Jack’s side, acting on a hunch and hoping, by all that was sacred, that he was wrong.  He swiftly felt around his mate’s ears, face, armpits, groin – anywhere that was extra sensitive or a joint.  He found several bumps – _buboes_ – already forming.

His blood froze in his veins as he shuddered involuntarily.

_The Nightmare Plague._

“Sandy!  Stop!” Aster shouted as he flung his gaze towards the other Guardian, but it was too late.

Sandy had just dismissed the last nightmare.  His head snapped to Aster at the shout.

_I was too late.  Too late.  I – I can’t lose them, not again.  Not again.  I don’t want to be alone again –_

Aster froze as a thought suddenly occurred to him, dashing his despair and germinating a seed of hope.

_I’m_ not _alone this time!_

Aster hastened outside without another word.  Exiting the burrow, he began shouting “Arcturus!” as he ran.  It felt like hours, but was, in fact, mere seconds, before the ancient spirit manifested.

“How did you…?  Nevermind.  Pitch attacked while I was gone.  They – they –” Aster said, stuttering to a stop as the reality of the situation reasserted itself.

Arcturus smacked Aster upside the back of the head with a summoned snowball to bring him back to the present.

“Plague.  The – the _Nightmare Plague_.  I – Oi!”

Arcturus dissipated and blew inside without a word, carrying the protesting Easter Bunny with him.  Aster was then unceremoniously deposited in the doorway of the nest room while Arcturus himself reformed at Jack’s side.  He immediately began examining the young Pooka’s body.  After several moments, his face growing grimmer by the second, Arcturus nodded decisively and raised his paw above Jack’s heart.  Faint tendrils of chilled air were visibly wavering in the air between his paw and just above Jack’s fur.

“Frostling.”

Jack cocked his head but otherwise didn’t respond.

Arcturus sighed and used his other paw to force Jack to face him.  “ _Jack_.”

Jack twitched and his eyes snapped into focus.  “Gr’nd’pa?”

“Focus, frostling.  Focus.  You need to force your internal temperature _down_.  Make yourself _colder_.  As cold as you can manage.  Do you understand?”

Jack nodded weakly and scrunched his eyes closed.  Aster quickly noticed frost beginning to form throughout Jack’s fur.  Arcturus stood as the frost began to creep across the nest and turned to address Aster.

“Aster.  Your mate can stave off the worst of the Plague by lowering his internal temperature.  While Pitch creates it wholesale from the stuff of nightmares, it still must manifest as a microorganism to behave in such a manner, which can only function correctly in the right temperature range.  However, he seems to have modified it with the nightmare sand.”

“Then does that mean you can’t –”

“Nonsense, youngling.  Did you think that I would not have formulated a cure, an antidote, to the Nightmare Plague, after what it took from us the last time he used it?  I have one.  However, with the newest modifications he has added, I cannot, in turn, modify my cure without a sample of the nightmare sand.”

Aster hesitated momentarily, before asking, “What do we do?”

“I will take the kits to my Warren and keep them carefully in cryostasis until you can acquire a sample.  However, I cannot keep such young kits in that state for too long without damaging their tissues.  Unfortunately, this means that I will not be able to aid you in the search.  The kits are too delicate to leave unattended.”

Aster took a deep breath to calm himself.

_The Old Man has a possible solution.  I_ must _focus on that._

“How long?” Jack asked, startling Aster.

His mate was standing now, albeit leaning heavily on his staff as he seemed to be gathering himself to move.

“Forty-eight hours,” the Old Man replied, face grim.

A dark look passed over Jack’s features before he spoke.  A chill ran down Aster’s spine at the sight.

“Done.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

The kits safely secreted away to Arcturus’ Antarctic Warren, the Guardians had gathered in Aster’s own Globe Room to coordinate the search and strategize.  North and Toothiana had arrived as the Old Man left, armed to the teeth.  Frige was out overseeing the yeti’s efforts in the northern hemisphere, while Raven was scouting with his progeny in the southern.  Both groups were hunting for a clue or sign to Pitch’s whereabouts.  Eirlys had been contacted as well; she and her dire wolves were searching the most inhospitable reaches of the Earth’s surface.

It had already been twenty four hours and no sign of Pitch had been found.

Aster abruptly slammed his fists down on the console, causing it spark warningly, in response to one of North’s suggestions regarding their search efforts.

“What, d’ya have a few ‘roos loose in the top paddock, ya fuck wit?  That’s about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike!  He lives _underground!_ ” Bunny exclaimed angrily.

Jack noted mentally that Aster’s accent thickened noticeably when he was really enraged.  _Interesting._

“Bunny!  I was only suggesting –”

“Oh, get stuffed, ya bloody wanker, I’ve had just about enough o’yer ‘ideas.’  Go bite ya bum!”

Jack wearily interposed himself between the two arguing men.

Man and Pooka.

Spirits.

_Whatever._

Gently placing one paw to Aster’s muzzle and stroking lightly while he gripped the other tightly to his staff, he murmured, “Bunny.  It’s not his fault.”

Bunny visibly deflated and leaned into Jack’s touch, despite the frigid temperature of his skin.  Jack was ruthlessly keeping his body temperature suppressed, even though it meant he couldn’t touch anyone or anything for long.  Frost was already stiffening Aster cheek fur.

“I’m sorry,” Bunny muttered, eyes downcast.  “It’s just –”

“I know.  It’s okay.  We’ll find him,” Jack reassured as he offered a faint smile.  “One of these days, I’ll understand more than half of what you’re saying and then you’ll be in big trouble.”

Aster favored Jack with a faint grin, although it would have look better if his muzzle wasn’t half covered in frost.  Jack removed his hand.  He _might_ have heard a hastily suppressed whimper at the loss of physical contact, but he kept that observation to himself.  Some things weren’t worth upsetting his mate.

_Maybe later.  In private.  After this is all over._

“Shouldn’t you be sitting down, Frostbite?  You shouldn’t overtax yourself.”

“Nonsense.  I have control –”

Jack swayed on his feet and was unceremoniously scooped up by his mate and deposited in a nearby chair where he’d spent the greater part of the last eight hours.

_So much for that then._

“Right.  Okay then.  Nevermind.  Now, would you mind explaining to me what this ‘Plague’ is?  I only caught snippets of your conversation with Grandfather while I was getting control of my body.”

Aster took a moment to respond, visibly steeling himself.

“The Nightmare Plague.  It’s… kind of like the bubonic plague here on Earth –”

Jack interjected, his tone a mix of shock and incredulity, “I have the _Black Death_?”

Aster waved Jack’s exclamation off.  “No, you drongo, I said it’s _kind of_ like it.  Not – _anyway_ , it’s similar in its physical manifestation, with the buboes that form in various places.  You’ve arrested their growth by dropping your body temperature, but that isn’t a perfect solution, as you just demonstrated.  It is a … how should I put this?”

“Take your time, Aster,” Jack reassured.

Bunny sighed and nodded.  “So, the bubonic plague – and all the related plagues, for that matter – are caused by a bacterium _Yersinia pestis_ here on Earth.  Pitch’s Nightmare Plague, basically, creates a miniature colony of fearlings within you that mimic them.  They grow stronger off of bad dreams and fear.  However, they do not manifest until the sleeper awakens from the initial nightmare.”

“Like an incubation period?”

Aster nodded.  “Yeah.”

“What’s the survival rate?”

Aster didn’t answer.  That worried Jack.

“Aster?”

“… five percent.”

Jack shivered, an altogether strange sensation for a Winter spirit.  He remained silent for a few minutes.  The other Guardians obligingly remained silent as well, allowing Jack all the time he might need to absorb that fact.

“I’m going to _rip_ out _each_ and _every_ one of his pointy teeth _with my fingers_ and _violently_ replace them with shards of ice and then _rip_ those back out after they freeze in place,” Jack abruptly growled, startling everyone in the room with the tone and viciousness of his declaration.  Jack shuddered and then turned an innocently inquisitive gaze on Aster, as if his outburst hadn’t occurred, asking, “How are you familiar with the Plague?”

Bunny stared for a minute before responding.  “Pitch engineered it to kill off the Pooka.”

Jack’s eye twitched.  “Does it only affect Pooka?”  Aster nodded.  “Aren’t you in danger?”

Aster looked oddly crestfallen.  “I’m immune.  I’m one of the five percent who survived.”

“So you’ve had this before?” Jack asked softly, his voice sickly sweet.

Aster nodded warily.  Jack began muttering darkly to himself.  Bunny wisely backed away from his companion as he contemplated the best way to brutally murder Pitch Black with as much pain and suffering as possible.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack had dozed off several hours prior, his body nearly on auto-pilot when it came to keeping his temperature down by this point, when he was startled awake by Tooth’s shout.  He glanced at the countdown they’d setup earlier.  Four hours remained before the kits were in danger from the cryostasis.

“We found him!”

“Where?” Jack inquired as he swiftly stood and stretched, his spine protesting the action quite vociferously.

_Not sleeping in a chair again anytime soon_. _Especially_ that _chair._

“He’s...” she trailed off, looking unsure.

“ _Yes?_ ” Jack prompted sharply.

“He’s at your lake, mate,” Aster finished Tooth’s sentence as he pointed at the Globe.  “He appears to be taunting the scouts.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed as he glowered at the dark spot on the map.

“I’m going to _kill_ that bastard.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Plague](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_%28disease%29), as many of you may already know, played havoc with the human population in the Middle Ages; varieties of this flea-borne bacterium still, ahem, 'plague' us to this day (pardon the pun), although modern medicine and hygiene have done wonders, vastly improving the survival rate. Humanity still holds a seemingly innate fear of it, particularly the [bubonic plague](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubonic_plague), commonly known as the _[Black Death](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death)_ , which killed somewhere between 30-60% of the population of Europe in only a few short years in the 14th century.


	17. A Pitched Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Got a new job and was quite busy for the first week or so with it.
> 
> Anywho, chapter! Enjoy!

The Guardians arrived as twilight settled over Jack's lake.  The water’s surface was still, shimmering like a silvered mirror in the gathering gloom as it reflected the pale moonlight.  A huge storm front was rolling in, dark and ominous, the echoes of thunder faint from the distance.  A low-flying shelf cloud guarded the underside of the storm, a tattered pannus of fractonimbus clouds trailing in its wake.  Jack knew, from experience as well as study, that that was indicative of very turbulent winds accompanying the storm.

The lightly forested meadow surrounding the lake was eerily silent, completely devoid of the susurrus of wildlife that Jack had grown accustomed to during his long centuries of isolation.

There was no sign of Pitch.

“Are we _sure_ that Pitch was here?” Tooth asked hesitantly.  “It doesn’t look like anyone has been here in quite a while.”

“Sssh!  Something’s not right,” Jack retorted, his gaze darting about the clearing warily.  “It’s quiet.  Too quiet.”

“Cliché much?” Aster grunted as he armed himself.  His ears twitched several times.  “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“Now who’s cliché?” Jack rejoined distractedly as he readied his staff.

North and Toothiana followed suit a moment later; Sandy already had his whips at the ready.  Jack spun in a slow circle, his fingers tightening and loosening rhythmically on his staff as he scanned the shadows.  His ears twitched at every faint sound, including that one right behind –

“Bunny, duck!”

Aster was already moving as Jack shouted, likely having heard the same noise Jack did.  A wicked-looking nightmare sand-scythe cut through the air where the Pooka’s head had been a moment before.  It disappeared back into the gloom and the meadow was silent once more.

“Pitch!  Get your bloody arse out here!” Aster challenged.

Silence, save for the faintest swishing over –

“Tooth!”  Aster and Jack exclaimed in tandem.

She flit straight up, narrowly dodging another swipe with the scythe.  Alert to the presence following her, she dodged several more swipes before the presence seemed to vanish.

“Pitch, выйти и бороться!”

A dark chuckle, that seemed to come from several directions at once, resonated throughout the clearing.  Jack caught a gleam of something off to his left and rolled to his right.  A scythe slashed downward into the space he’d occupied a moment before.

Aster shouted in pain.  Jack whipped his head away from the still visible scythe a few feet away from him to see Aster rolling away from another scythe, already clutching a small poultice from his bandolier to a long, shallow wound in his right arm.

 _Two?  On opposite sides of the field?  That can’t be right.  I wonder if I can manage to_ …

Jack dashed forward to Aster’s side.

“Can you watch my back for a minute?”

“What?  Why?”

“I’m going to try to… you know,” Jack whispered.

Aster’s brow knitted for a brief moment before understanding dawned.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to do it?”

“I can do this.”

Aster nodded as he set to work.  Jack closed his eyes and focused.  After that incident back in February when Hawthorne wandered off, Jack had been working with Aster to be able to ken on purpose and not just instinctively.  It was difficult for him still, but he seemed to be slowly getting the hang of it.  Now was definitely the time to have it work.

_Focus.  Calm.  Breathe.  Focus.  Focu—_

Jack’s eyes flew open as he dodged to the side, taking Aster with him into a tumble and landing next to the others.

“Oi!  What d’ya do that for?” Aster demanded angrily.

“We’re surrounded,” Jack said, warily watching the darkness.

“What d’ya mean?  Nightmares?”

“No.  Pitch.  He’s… everywhere.”

“What?” Tooth exclaimed.  “How?”

Jack opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by that same dark chuckle echoing from every side of the clearing.  It seemed to come from multiple locations at once.  At least a dozen Pitches emerged from the shadows, scythes in hand.

One of the Pitches on Jack’s left spoke, leering as he said, “Well, well, well.  It seems that –”

“– we have been caught out,” another Pitch, this one behind and to the right of Jack’s position, finished.

“Do you like our new trick?” yet another Pitch, this one in front of Jack, asked.

Jack noticed that Aster had an odd look on his face as his discerning gaze switched from Pitch to Pitch, as if some detail was off but he couldn’t figure out what.

“Aster…?”

“I don’t know, Frostbite.  Something’s… off.”

A dozen Pitches snarled at that pronouncement and dashed forward, scythes swinging.

The Guardians charged forward to meet them.

North engaged two at once, swords singing through air gone chilly as Jack began spraying frost at several of their attackers.  Aster jumped, flipped, and dodged around and over several opponents himself, boomerangs flying.  Tooth’s scimitars likewise engaged a pair of Pitches while Sandy’s whips flit through the air, snapping and cracking as he fended off the rest.

Jack dodged another swing and fired a volley of ice shards.  That Pitch faded into shadow and the ice shredded the bark on the side of a tree trunk.  Aster’s boomerangs, for once, missed their marks as the other Pitches followed suit.  Silence once again settled over the clearing, save for the light panting of Jack and Aster.  Jack suddenly swayed on his feet.

Aster caught him.  “Snowflake?”

Jack shivered violently for a moment, before gently extracting himself from Bunny’s arms.  “I’m okay now.  Lost control of my temperature for a second there.”

Pitch’s voice hissed from the darkness.

“I _see_ , so _that’s_ how you are still standing.  Did the poor widdle babies _die?_ ”

“Pitch, you bastard!” Aster shouted angrily.  “Come out and fight like a man!”

Pitch laughed maniacally from all sides.  One lone Pitch stepped out of the shadows a dozen yards away from where the Guardians were grouped.  The rest faded in partially, seeming to be half-shadow where they stood in a circle surrounding the Guardians.  Jack frowned.

 _Thirteen?  Is that –_ he lightly kenned for a moment and then nodded to himself – _yes, that is all of them.  That one over there is… different, somehow.  The actual Pitch?  If that’s the case, what are all –_

“Aster,” Jack whispered softly, too softly for Pitch to hear him, but more than loud enough for his mate.  “The lone Pitch over there is different than the others.  Can you and the others keep the other twelve busy while I engage him?  Something’s not right here.”

Aster nodded as he whispered without taking his eyes off of their enemies, “That’s all we’ve been saying tonight.  I just can’t put my finger on it, mate.”

Jack nodded.  “On the count of three…”

Aster nodded.

“One… two… three!”

Jack shot into the air as Aster called for the others to attack.  Chaos returned to the central battlefield as Jack reached the apex of his arcing flight path.  He paused abruptly in mid-air when he discovered that his target had vanished.  Scanning the melee that had broken out amongst the Guardians and the other twelve Pitches, he could find no sign of the thirteenth.

“Did you miss me?”

The Wind flung Jack several dozen yards before he could will it to do so.  Pitch’s scythe flashed through where he’d been a moment before.  Pitch snarled.

“That trick is getting really old, Pitch,” Jack taunted.  “Got any better ones?”

Jack mentally smacked himself.  _There you go, flapping away again – ack!_

Jack dodged as a bolt of pure darkness flashed over his head.  Pitch narrowed his eyes.

“Now whose tricks are getting old?  Can you do nothing else but _run_ , little Pooka?”

Jack’s ears flicked in irritation, but he refused to rise to the taunt.  Pitch sighed dramatically after a moment.

“It is _such_ a bore when your opponents start _learning_.  Then you have to go and do – _something like this!_ ”

Pitch charged forward so fast, Jack saw after images.  He barely got his staff up in time to block the strike.  He was thrown backwards several feet before he flipped in the air and caught himself with a buffet of wind.  Not pausing for a moment, he threw himself back the way he’d come, forming his ice scythe and spinning into an attack.  Pitch raised his scythe and blocked Jack’s attack.

Jack’s scythe blade shattered as he shot by.

_Damn it.  I still can’t form it hard enough in this new body yet.  If only I could change back –_

“Ack!” Jack exclaimed as he dodged a pair of Nightmares that shot from out of nowhere.  “No fair!”

Jack risked a glance at the fighting below as he spun and weaved through the air to a more advantageous position.  It seemed that a stalemate had arisen down there.  The Guardians were successfully defending themselves, but were not able to push for an offensive.

Not good.  What they needed was a distraction.

“You shouldn’t take your eyes off me, little Pooka,” Pitch hissed in Jack’s ear.

Jack screamed in surprise as he flung himself sideways, but it was too late.  Pitch’s scythe carved a deep cut across his back and knocked him from the sky.

_Ow ow ow._

“Jack!”

Jack caught a glimpse of Aster’s shock and dismay as he fell into the woods.  It chilled him to the bone.  The tree branches broke his fall, but left him battered and bruised.  He finally crashed into a large pile of leaves and twigs with a loud thunk, leaving Jack momentarily dazed.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are, little Pooka!  The Boogeyman _wants to kill you!_ ”

Jack froze in place, despite his protesting body, and listened.  It sounded like Pitch was nearby, but he couldn’t be sure over the din of the chaotic melee a short distance away.  Maybe if he kenned –

_Shit!_

Jack groaned as he leapt out of the debris moments before Pitch’s scythe stabbed down into the loam where’d he lain a moment earlier.

_Too close._

Before Jack could fully react, Pitch spun in a tight circle and hit him again.  He barely managed to get his staff up in time to prevent the blade from slicing him in two – but he was unable to absorb the force of the blow and went crashing through the thicket and out over, and then into, his lake.

“Jack!” Aster screamed right before he plunged into the icy waters.

It began to rain.

Jack sank limply, watching as the water tinged a pinkish-purple above him.

 _I’m bleeding a lot,_ he mused dazedly.  _I should… do something… about that…_

His thoughts drifted as he sank deeper into his lake.  He was absently thankful that he couldn’t drown again.  Spirits breathed, sure, but he could feed off of his magical core if he needed to avoid breathing for a while.

_I need to… to…_

His vision started to dim as he began to black out, but then something vaguely familiar fell into the water, tracers of scarlet floating free of the object.

 _Aster’s boomerang_.

Jack saw red.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Aster growled as his boomerang was knocked from his paw, covered in his own blood from the reopened wound in his arm.  His fur was beginning to stain to a steely red hue.

 _That’ll take hours to wash out,_ he noted distracted as he dodged and kicked at the Pitch attacking him currently, as he tried, and failed, to fend of his worry about Jack.  _If I can just get this damn shadow off me for one bleeding minute –_

A sudden rumbling creak sounded behind Aster as he took another step back towards the water’s edge, dodging yet another attack.  His footpaw slipped on _ice._

_What in…?_

Aster turned his slip into an acrobatic tumble and skidded across the edge of the now-completely frozen lake.

_Jack…!_

Aster stood, already forming a plan to break through the ice to rescue his mate –

The center of the lake burst upward into a craggy, towering spear of ice.  And at the very top –

Jack Frost.

 _Human_ Jack Frost.

 _Human,_ completely _starkers_ Jack Frost, save for the staff harness and leather accessories Aster had made for him for his last birthday.  Jack’s bracers and bandolier didn’t look too bad against his pale skin.  Bunny was absently proud that the magic he’d infused in them had worked to adjust the fit of Jack’s leathers when he shapeshifted.

_Wait, what?  He can’t do that yet!_

“ _Pitch!_ ” Jack screamed as he launched into the air, spiraling through the air as if he had been shot out of a cannon.  The pillar of ice beneath his feet shattered as he leapt.

 _Huh.  That’s a_ lot _of force._

Aster glanced towards where the other Guardians were still fighting.  Most of the not-Pitches were down, each one having dissipated like smoke on the wind when ‘killed.’  Aster suspected that they were some sort of shadow-clone, but he had no idea how Pitch had created them.  The others looked to have the fight in hand, so he turned his attention back to Jack and Pitch, way up near the clouds.

The two combatants were exchanging blows left and right.

_Left… that’s it!  Pitch is right-handed, but all of the Pitches here have been wielding their scythes left-handed!_

Aster didn’t know what that distinction meant, but it had to be important.  But that was unimportant right now, because –

_What the bloody hell?_

Jack and Pitch had been trading blows back and forth for quite a while as Aster watched, but now Jack had landed a solid hit, sending Pitch flying backwards several dozen yards.  Pitch seemed to shout some sort of taunt before firing a massive wave of shadows and sand at Jack, who promptly returned fire with a wall of ice and frost.  Pitch fired another volley on the heels of the first.

“Jack!” Aster shouted fruitlessly into the suddenly howling wind as the storm abruptly picked up.

The shadows surrounded Jack – and burst outward in a shower of hailstones.  Jack screamed – Aster could here his voice even over the wind and rain – and did – _something_ – and ice and clouds and wind came pouring out of the bottom of the clouds above his head and began whipping around him, as if forming a shield.  Pitch took a step back, before summoning several _dozen_ nightmares and commanding them to attack.

Aster readied his remaining boomerang –

Lightning split the sky, blinding him momentarily from the brightness.  When his vision cleared, he saw –

Jack, floating in the air, staff held out and towards Pitch.  The nightmares were gone, and Pitch – was falling from the sky, smoking and charred.

 _Did Jack just hit Pitch with_ lightning?  _How in the –_

Aster had to dive backwards as Pitch hit the ice with a hard crash, shattering the surface.  Jack spun as he dived in pursuit, firing several enormous spears of ice that lanced downward and pierced straight through the Nightmare King.  Pitch fell below the water’s surface and the ice sealed his tomb.

Jack landed shakily near Aster and fell to his knees, saying only, “Aster?” before he started to fall over in exhaustion.

Aster caught him.

“I’ve got ya, Snowflake.  I’m here.”

The others hurried over.  North took off his coat and draped it over the youngest Guardian.  Aster nodded in thanks.  Jack took several minutes, just snuggling into Aster’s chest fur and huddling in the faux-blanket, before he seemed ready to stand.  Aster chose that moment to blurt out the question that had been bothering him the entire time.

“Jack?  What did you _do?_ ”

Jack blinked at him.  “What?”

“The lightning!  Was that – was that _you_?”

Jack grinned, half-sheepishly, half-proudly, and replied, “Yeah.  That was awesome!  I wasn’t sure I could do it, but the storm was right there and –”

“But you’re powers are ice, mate!  How the hell did you pull lightning out of your arse?”

“Don’t you know?  The electrical charge in storm clouds that cause lightning is built by tiny ice crystals bumping and rubbing against graupel – large pellets – and when there’s enough charge – BOOM!  I just… focused it, a bit.”

“Jack?  You shot Pitch with lightning?” Tooth questioned, dumbly repeating Aster’s question.

Jack smirked proudly and struck a heroic pose.  Only –

“Jack, mate, you’re starkers.  Human and starkers.”

“What?  Human?  _Really_?  Awesome!  Wait, starkers?  That’s means I’m either crazy or nak— shit!” Jack exclaimed as he quickly pulled North’s coat closed.  “Aster!  How do I change back!”

Laughing, Aster instructed Jack on changing back to his Pooka form.  It took several minutes, during which Sandy drudged the lake as the ice melted.  Sandy returned to them shortly after Jack had managed to shift back.  The Guardian of Dreams shook his head.  His sand formed an image of a bowl with a faux-water’s surface on top, a mini-Pitch lying on the bottom.  A large ‘x’ began to flash over the whole image.

Jack stared, dumbfounded.  “But – but – I got him!  Twice!  He should be down there!  Didn’t you find _anything?_ ”

Sandy nodded and produced two things – Aster’s missing boomerang and –

“What is that?  Glass?” Jack asked as he stared at the large shard of dark something.

It did indeed resemble glass, but –

“Let me see that,” Aster requested.  Taking the shard from Sandy, he carefully examined it for a few moments.  “Huh.  It appears to be some sort of polished stone; it even reflects light and images, although distorted.”

Aster looked up at Jack, who shrugged.  “I got nothin’.”

“Weird.”

“Yeah.”

“No matter!  We beat Pitch, yes?  And Sandy got sample of sand!  We focus on this, da?”

Jack grinned at him.  “Yeah, we won!  Let’s go save the kits!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Lightning and Ice in Storms](http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2006/13sep_electricice/).
> 
> Russian:  
> выйти и бороться!  
> come out and fight!
> 
> ~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~
> 
> Well, that was exciting! One more chapter to go and _Snow Pooka_ is over! So sad!
> 
> But!
> 
> I have plans for several little vignettes to follow, which will be collectively posted under the title _Snow Days_ (title idea courtesy Kayasurin! Thanks again!). They will act as a bridge between _Snow Pooka_ and it's proper sequel, _Snow Fall_ , covering snippets of time through the few years between the two stories. I'll see what I can do about getting the epilogue chapter for this story out as soon as I can.


	18. Transitions

Pitch flinched away from the Obsidian Mirror, shielding his eyes with his arm.  When the spots cleared from his vision, he returned his gaze to the Mirror, just in time to witness his doppelganger sinking beneath the surface of the lake.

 _What did he do?_ Pitch pondered in exasperation as he turned away from the Mirror, before gesturing dismissively to the empty room.  _No matter, the test was a success and, if all goes well, Frost and his kits will be dead by morning.  It is unfortunate that Bunnymund is immune to the Plague; otherwise, I could have killed them all._

Pitch wandered back over to the table of books.  He slowly ran his finger down the page from which he had found the doppelganger spells.  The spells had been too easy, really, which had been unexpected.  Sure, his first twelve attempts had been mere shadows of himself, but the thirteenth one had been almost as good as the original.

 _But something is missing_ , Pitch noted, humming to himself as he returned to perusing the stolen volumes.  _Maybe…._

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack and the others rushed the sample of nightmare sand to Arcturus' Antarctic Warren with barely an hour to spare, but it was enough.  In no time at all, Jack and the kits were safe and healthy, although they were immediately proscribed copious amounts of fluids and bed rest.  Despite swiftly halting the Plague, they still needed time for their bodies to recover from the shock, especially the kits.

As it turned out, Jack had, by shapeshifting into a human again, mostly killed off the nightmare-infused bacterium in his body.  This was not a trick that just any old Pooka could use, however; it only worked because Jack was originally human and this particular strain of the Nightmare Plague was engineered for Pooka physiology.  When Jack shifted back, he truly became human again, in almost all the ways that mattered, though he retained the innate magical abilities of the Pooka that allowed for shapeshifting in the first place.

Restless by only the second day, but with a mate who was insistent that he rest, Jack compromised with Aster by being allowed to go up to the Workshop with the kits.  He would lay about on a couch with a book while the kits tested out North's latest baby and toddler toys.  In the meantime, Aster worked on Easter; he would collect them after a few hours and take them back to the Warren.  Jack still insisted on helping while the kits slept.

This pattern continued through Easter and past it for another two weeks.  Jack had just about had enough of his overprotective mate.  The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack was reclining in the sitting room that had become his almost daily retreat from Aster's overprotectiveness; Aster was out scouting for new colors.  The kits were back at the Warren spending time with Arcturus for once; they had been trying to find a day for him to babysit, at his own gruff request, no less, for some time, but several upstart spirits had required his personal attention for most of the previous two weeks.  They were particularly good at hiding.

But not _that_ good.

“Hey Snowflake.  Ow ya goin'?” Aster greeted as he returned, carrying a basket full of strange-looking flora.  He'd been to the Amazon earlier and the trip must have paid off.

Jack memorized his page number with a glance as he closed it.  He looked up and smiled at Bunny.

"Good, but I think I've had just enough of sitting around.  Can I _finally_ be allowed to go? I promise I'm feeling fine!" Jack whined by way of greeting.

Aster chuckled.  "You're a right cranky patient, you are, but...  I see no reason to keep you 'gainst your will any longer.  Thank you for humoring me."

Jack whooped and leapt at Aster, who barely had enough time to set down his basket before being mauled.  Jack immediately pulled Aster into a kiss, which quickly deepened and grew heated.  They were interrupted before the metaphorical pants came off by a strange, alarm-like sound.

Jack pulled away from Aster with a dazed look in his eyes and asked in confusion, "Who's watching _Doctor Who_? I didn't even know North had a television!"

“That’s no telly, mate.”

Jack dashed out of the room and to the railing overlooking the Globe in time to see a person fade into existence down below on the Workshop floor, in time with the sound that Jack swore sounded exactly like the TARDIS.  Before he could ask Aster what was going on, North appeared across from him on the far side of the railing and two levels up.

“Ombric! Как у Вас дела?”

The elder, apparently the oft-mentioned Ombric, shivered visibly as he fully faded into view, his pale birch staff tapping against the floor.  The perfectly smooth and straight staff was topped by a shimmering orb, whose glow was pulsing in time, Jack realized after a moment, with the fading sound that had heralded Ombric's arrival.  Inside, it contained a dazzling swirl of sands that moved continuously, yet held to the form of an hourglass.  The wizard's robes were a sight, appearing to be of both light and heavy fabric at the same time.  The most curious feature was their overall appearance; for the life of him, Jack could not define it.  Every time he settled on a description, it changed its pattern, colors, or gradient.  It was strangely fascinating to watch.

Aster grunted and muttered, "He's still wearing that hideous thing?"

Okay, so maybe it was just fascinating to him.

Ombric turned and looked up at North, shouting, "My protégé!  Прекрасно.  А ты?”

Aster huffed in annoyance and hopped down to the lower floor.  Jack floated after him.

“Как обычно,” North replied as he moved to the lift to get down to the Workshop floor.

Aster got right up in Ombric’s face and shouted angrily, “Where have you been?”

Ombric tapped Aster lightly on the forehead with his staff.  Aster teleported several feet away and began wandering about in a disoriented fashion and began interacting with various objects.  Jack watched him for a moment and could have _sworn_ Aster was hitting on a bookshelf.

“I have come to your call, exactly two weeks after Easter as I assured you I would!”

Jack frowned and replied dryly, “Two weeks after Easter.  _Right_.  One year _after_ we requested you to come.  Will Bunny be okay?”

Ombric frowned and gazed at the swirling sand in his crystal.  “I see.  Ah, well.  Wibbly wobbly timey wimey.”

Jack raised an eyebrow dubiously and crossed his arms, shifting such that most of his weight was on one footpaw.  His ears perked reproachfully.  Ombric sighed gustily and tapped the butt of the staff against the floorboards once, sharply.  Aster shook his head, as if clearing it of cobwebs, and started when he found himself talking animatedly to a wall sconce about butter.

“Thank you.  What is it with you and all of these _Doctor Who_ references?”

Ombric smiled mysteriously.  “Ah, but am I referencing a television series or is the series referencing me?”

Jack paused and, after thinking it over, had to concede the point.  “I suppose so.”

Ombric simply smiled mysteriously again.  North had finally returned and was carrying a small piece of parchment.  Aster had slunk dejectedly back over to stand behind Jack.

“Ombric!  Here is list of missing volumes from you library.  What did Pitch steal them for?”

Ombric glanced over the list and immediately froze in place.  When he did, _everything_ nearby followed suit.  The air went completely still; the toy airplane that was buzzing overhead under the control of several elves paused in mid-flight, propeller unmoving; the Yeti that had been walking by stood stock still, frozen with one foot uplifted in a partially completed step, as if he – she? – was a statue covered in fur.  The only thing moving in that instant was the swirling sand in the orb on Ombric’s staff.  Jack found he couldn’t move either.

Then motion began again as Ombric sighed.

“What the hell just happened?” Jack exclaimed as he regained control of his body.

“When Ombric is startled, Jack, time… freezes,” Aster explained softly from behind him.

Jack blinked and turned to look at Aster.  “Why?”

“Because, young one, I am the Guardian of Time, otherwise known as –”

“ _Father Time_ ,” Jack gasped.  Ombric nodded.  Jack shook himself mentally, setting aside that thought for later, and continued.  “What surprised you then?”

Ombric frowned severely.  “These books.  They only have one subject in common.  Mirrors.  Reflections.  In particular, they all mention a single specific artifact.  The Obsidian Mirror.”

Aster twitched from behind Jack.  Jack glanced over his shoulder to see a look of surprise on Aster’s face.  Worried, Jack returned his gaze to Ombric.

“The Obsidian Mirror?” he inquired.

“Do you know of Tezcatlipoca?” Ombric replied softly, his eyes going distant for a moment before refocusing on Jack as he answered.

“Yes.  I met him once, oh… about two centuries ago, now.  Not very friendly.  Granted, I was icing the Temple for fun, so that might have had something to do with it.”

Aster snorted and muttered fondly, “That’s my Jack.”

Jack shoulder-bumped Aster lightly and grinned sideways at him.  Aster’s ears fell in embarrassment.  Jack’s grin widened when he realized he wasn’t supposed to have heard that.

 _Aster keeps forgetting I can hear as well as he can now,_ Jack mused happily.

Ombric had a mischievous twinkle in his eye, but didn’t comment on their interaction.  “So.  Did you notice his one leg?  How it was solid black and looked like a shiny stone, yes?”  Jack nodded.  “Well, that is the Obsidian Mirror.  His prosthetic limb.  It can be altered to any other form with an act of will, most commonly into that of a Mirror, hence its name.  It is a powerful artifact that can be used for many things, from simple scrying to extremely dangerous mirror magic.”

“Mirror magic?”

“He means things like the Jabberwock, Bloody Mary, and doppelgangers, mate – oh!  That’s why those Pitches we fought a few weeks ago were all left-handed!”

Ombric tilted his head, peering cat-like at Aster for a moment, before nodding.  “Yes, that would be the most obvious sign of a reflected doppelganger: inverted handedness.  It is a literal mirror image of the individual whom it copies.  This is most troubling.  Doppelgangers are only the first in a long list of creations he could manage with enough time and study.  We must be vigilant and locate the Mirror.  Has anyone heard from Tezcatlipoca or Quetzalcoatl?  They are the guardians of the Mirror, for hopefully obvious reasons.”  They all shook their heads in the negative.  “Well.  I see what I must do.  I will go speak with them.  We shall discuss this further when I return.”

With that, Ombric nodded sharply, once, and the TARDIS-like sound faded back in, the orb flashing brighter and brighter in tandem with the pulsing sound.  Ombric faded out with a barking laugh when Jack rolled his eyes and sighed theatrically at the display.

“Well, nothing for it, Jack.  We should return to the Warren and inform Arcturus of what we’ve found out.  North, you’ll tell the others?”

North nodded.

“Off we go then, Frostbite.  Let’s see what damage the kits have done to the Old Man.”

Jack grinned in reply.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack and Aster returned to their burrow in time to catch Arcturus playing peek-a-boo with Lavender while Cypress ‘read’ a book and Hawthorne chased frost creatures, similar to the ones that Jack could make.  Jack stifled a giggle while Aster had to slap a hand over his mouth to avoid laughing loudly.  Arcturus’ ears twitched in their direction anyway.  He grew immediately serious and stood, clearing his throat loudly and looking for all the world as if he hadn’t been caught having fun.

Jack asked, mirth tingeing his voice, “They were good, I guess?  Or do we need to leave and come back later so you can play hide and seek?”

Aster laughed uproariously, unable to control himself any longer.  Arcturus narrowed his eyes and a snowball smacked both of them upside the back of the head.

“Oi!”

“Hey!”

Arcturus smirked faintly.  “Yes, they were very well behaved.  Cypress has gone through several picture books today.  I expect he will begin reading before the year is out.”

Jack tilted his head to the side and gaped, exclaiming, “Really?  I am never going to get used to how fast Pooka kits grow up.”

Aster chuckled as he moved to sweep Lavender up in a wide swing.  She giggled the entire time.

“How’s my little girl?”

“Dada!”

“Dada, hi!” Cypress said, addressing Aster, with a wave that nearly knocked him over.

Aster waved back even as he marveled at how quickly the kits learned and grew.  Hawthorne ignored them in favor of chasing the frost creatures.

 _Typical_.

“I should be going now, frostling–”

“And miss all the fun, Arcturus?  Tsk tsk,” came Seraphina’s voice from the air a moment before she materialized in her mist-like fashion.

“Sera!  What brings you here?  Done with your experiments or whatever it was you were doing on your island?” Aster asked animatedly, setting Lavender back down.  She hopped off to chase frost creatures with Hawthorne.

“In a manner of speaking, yes.  I have completed my task.”

Aster and Arcturus both started and stared at her.  It took Jack a moment to clue in.

“Wait, you said ‘I’ not ‘we’!” Aster exclaimed.  He had not heard her use the singular personal pronoun since the last Ice Age, before she had taken over the mantle of Mother Nature.

She smiled beatifically and replied simply, “Because I am no longer two, but one.”

Jack frowned and started to ask “What do you m–”, but never got to finish his sentence.

The mist gathered once more next to Seraphina, coalescing into a young Pooka.  A doe, if Aster was correct.  She had soft brown fur and warm green eyes that glittered faintly in the light of the Warren.  Her markings were quite floral and were a dark gold in color; they reminded him of his own markings, yet seemed somehow older, in style.  She was wearing a necklace made of a simple golden chain, from which hung a slim, uncut, dark-blue sapphire.  She was about half Jack’s height; that, and the fact that her markings had grown in, meant that she was about three or four years old.

She strongly resembled what Aster had imagined when he had considered what their little Asteria could have grown up to look like.

_But how…?_

She smiled faintly.  Aster heard a gasp and a clatter from off to his left and glanced over to see Arcturus clutching at his chest, staff forgotten on the ground and gaping.  He gaped himself at the sight, for he had never seen so much emotion from the Eldest.  He turned his gaze back to the young doe just in time to see her smile brighten as she spoke.

“Hello, Father.  Hello, Father,” she greeted Jack and Aster, in turn, with a nod of the head to each as she addressed them.  They gaped at her in response, stunned.

She then turned a more serious gaze on the shell-shocked Arcturus and stepped lightly up to him.  He collapsed to his knees and continued staring, the faintest hint of tears in his eyes.  She reached out one hand delicately to cup Arcturus’ muzzle.

She smiled warmly at him and said simply, “Hello, Husband.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Russian:  
> Как у Вас дела?  
> How are you doing? (formal)
> 
> Прекрасно. А ты?  
> Fine. And you? (informal)
> 
> Как обычно.  
> As usual.
> 
> \------------------------------------
> 
> Also, kudos to vulpineTrickster for guessing what Seraphina's project was!
> 
> As I mentioned, _Snow Days_ is up next. There will be 4 or 5 short stories to pass the time between fics. Then I will move on to the third full part of this series, _Snow Fall_. My posting speed will be a bit sporadic for a while, as I adjust to my new job. I thank you all in advance for your patience. ^_^


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